Knight and the Beast
by longshot07
Summary: When young knight Clay Moorington finds himself trapped in a castle with a cursed Jester and his group of lava monsters, he has trouble adjusting to the situation. But as Clay begins to get through to the Jester, he finds out there is more to him then what lays on the outside. BatB AU ClayXJestro
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Just letting you all know, This is an AU so it might not line up with the shows cannon. This is something that came up in my head after watching Beauty and the Beast a couple of times and listening to the soundtrack nonstop.**

* * *

 ** _Once upon a time, in a faraway land,_**

 ** _There was an Evil wizard that lived on the outskirts of a kingdom called Knighton._**

 ** _The wizard had an army of human followers and monsters made from stone, and a plan to attack and take over knighton, thinking nothing could stop him._**

 ** _But then, one winter's night,_**

 ** _His apprentice had a say in the matter,_**

 ** _Repulsed by the idea of darkness and cruelty of the wizards rule,_**

 ** _The Apprentice tried to persuade his master to have second thoughts._**

 ** _But the wizard just ignored him,_**

 ** _And laughed at him mockingly._**

 ** _Seeing no other option,_**

 ** _The apprentice took the wizards staff and destroyed it,_**

 ** _Taking away the power he needed to take over the kingdom._**

 ** _In a fit of rage, the wizard placed a curse on the apprentice_**

 ** _For he had seen that he was weak and had no use._**

 ** _As punishment,_**

 ** _He transformed him into a hideous beast,_**

 ** _And placed a powerful spell on the castle that they lived in,_**

 ** _And all his human followers, leaving the now cursed apprentice and all traitors as hideous creatures._**

 ** _The wizard and his stone army disappeared, never to be seen for years._**

 ** _Ashamed of his monstrous form,_**

 ** _The Appentice concealed himself inside the castle,_**

 ** _With a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world._**

 ** _A Rose that grew in the darkness of the castle,_**

 ** _Became an indicator of the curse,_**

 ** _Which would bloom for many years._**

 ** _If he could find someone to love,_**

 ** _And earn their love in return_**

 ** _By the time the last petal fell,_**

 ** _Then the spell would be broken._**

 ** _If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast_**

 ** _For all time._**

 ** _As the years passed,_**

 ** _He fell into despair, and lost all hope,_**

 ** _For who could ever learn to love… A Beast?_**

* * *

The roosters crowed as the sun rose over the town of Knighton. The people awoke; ready to start the day like the day before. People exchanged good mornings and hellos as they walked passed each other; grownups going to work or children going to school.

One young man in particular was already up before the roosters; just finishing some morning routine push ups and getting dressed for his duties. Clay Moorington was one of the five newly graduated Knights of the Knighton, and he took his new position very seriously. He had to be up at the crack of dawn to serve the kingdom; weather it would be guarding the king, queen and princess or assisting Merlok the wizard. Knighton was a peaceful place and hardly ever had anything dangerous happen, so Clay lightly assumed that must of his duties wouldn't be too dangerous or life threatening. Still, he was going to be the best he could be at his duty as a knight.

As soon as he finished dressing, Clay grabbed his sword and shield, strapped them on his back and ran straight to work; exchanging hellos and good mornings with the people he ran past.

"Can't be late on the first day." He thought to himself as he jogged through town. "First day on the job has to be a good one."

While Clay ran towards the castle, a pair of strangers among the townspeople were watching him. A hooded man with dark a violet robe watched from a lamppost as the knight started coming towards him and his Accomplice. The other man was dressed in slightly fancier clothes, with curly hair going down to his shoulders with a moustache and short goatee.

"There's that Moorington boy, now." The hooded man spoke with devilish smile under his hood. "He's probably going to the castle now for his first day of work. Yet little does he know that he'll be changing jobs soon."

"I wouldn't be too sure of that, capo." The other man spoke with an Italian accent. "Knights are very loyal to their peers. They would go so far as to sacrifice themselves for them."

"Don't be so sure of yourself, Roberto. I can be very persuasive."

Roberto watched and leaned against the lamppost as the hooded man took out a cane and hunched over; making himself look elderly and frail. He walked into the street as Clay ran closer. Clay immediately stopped in his tracks as the seemingly elderly man walked into his path.

"Oh, I'm very sorry, sir." Clay apologised; thinking he almost ran into the elder.

"Why, whatever for, young man?" The hooded man put on an old sounding voice and made sure to keep his face hidden.

"I almost ran into you. I was just on my way to the castle."

"Oh, you're one of the new Knights. Am I right?"

Clay nodded politely.

"Yes, it's my first day and I don't want to be late." He was about to take off.

"Well, if you don't like it, you can come talk to me and I'll have a job offer you." The hooded man offered, making himself seem sincere.

"That's very kind of you sir, but I've pledged my loyalty to the royal family and the royal wizard." Clay explained as he was about to walk off.

Roberto stopped leaning on the lamppost as he laughed at the end of the Knights' sentence.

"You mean Merlok the wizard?" Roberto laughed as he walked over. "That old fool needs all the help he can get."

The hooded man was tempted to laugh with his accomplice, but Clay glared at him with a resentful stare.

"Don't talk about Merlok that way!" Clay responded in a spiteful tone.

The hooded man stopped smiling through his hood and looked up at Roberto.

"Yeah, don't talk about Merlok that way!" He shouted as he hit his accomplice on the arm with his cane.

Roberto let out a painful yelp as he rubbed his now sore arm.

"Merlok is not a fool. He helped me get where I am today." Clay tried to defend the wizards' honour.

Just as Clay stopped talking, a loud explosion came from the castle; catching the attention of several townspeople. The knight looked up with wide eyes before he started running again. When he was gone, the two men looked at each other blankly before breaking out in laughter.

* * *

Clay got to the castle in record time, even though he felt breathless when he stopped running. The king and queen were outside the castle with the other Knights and a group of squirebots. Clay walked towards the others as they watched a tower of the castle being clouded by smoke.

"What, happened?" Clay asked as he caught his breath.

Macy, Arron, lance and Axl turned to face Clay when he spoke.

"Merlok's been messing with fireworks again." Lance answered, turning back to look at the tower.

"He's ok, but he set off the fire alarm and we had to get out." Axl added.

"We can go check on him when the smoke is cleared up." Macy added before noticing how worn out Clay looked. "Are you alright, Clay?"

"You don't look too hot, man." Aaron added with concern.

"I'm fine." Clay reassured. "I just ran as fast as I could when I heard the explosion."

King Halbert let out a worried sigh as he looked at the smoky tower.

"I should be used to this by now, but I swear; it gets worse every time!" The king paced as a squirebot held an umbrella over him.

"Now, Eggred; Merlok knows what he's doing." The queen reassured the worrying king. "The castle isn't going to go up in flames."

"Yeah, dad; you can't make fireworks without black powder." Macy stated with a cheery grin.

Before the king could respond, a squirebot dressed like a fireman poked his head out from the door.

"Merlok says it's safe to come back in now!" The small robot announced.

Taking that into account, the king and queen and the Knights went inside to make sure Merlok was still in one piece while the group of squirebots quickly followed. Without anyone noticing, two children followed them inside the castle.

When they made it upstairs, the Knights quickly opened the door leading into Merloks study chamber. Clay and Macy started coughing as smoke blow out from the room while Lance took cover.

"Careful; that smoke almost got into my hair!" The rich knight called out angrily.

Clay and the others ignored him and went inside the smoke filled room.

"Marlok?" Clay called out.

"Are you ok?" Axl added in.

Just then, a cough came from the smoke and the silhouette of an elderly man appeared through it.

"Oh dear." The silhouette spoke as he waved his wooden staff around. "I must've put a little too much black powder in that batch."

The smoke began to fade as the wizard waved his staff over his head and soon disappeared completely; revealing the silhouette to be Merlok. The Knights and the royal family looked around the room with wide eyes; seeing books and papers scattered everywhere.

"Whoa, what a mess!"

Everyone heard a new voice behind them and turned around to see who it was. Standing there were two children; a boy and a girl named Robin and Ava.

"Hey, what are you guys doing here?" Aaron spoke with cheerful surprise.

"Shouldn't you two be at school?" The queen questioned in a strict but firm tone.

"Uhhhh... well, the teacher didn't show up to class, so we got a free period." Robin explained shyly; rubbing the back of his neck.

Ava raised an eyebrow at robins' attempt at lying.

"Actually we heard the explosion and hurried over here because we wanted to make sure Merlok was ok." Ava told the truth; making Robin blush a little.

The queen let a brief sigh and shook her head; glad that the children showed concern but slightly disappointed that they would run out of school like that.

"Well, it's nice that the both of you wanted to make sure Merlok was ok, but you can't miss out on your studies." The king explained as he was about to take them back to school.

"Dad, missing out on one lesson isn't going to hurt anyone." Macy stopped her father in his tracks.

"Quite right, Macy my dear." Merlok agreed; brushing some dust off of himself. "Besides, if you let them stay a little so they can help me clean up, I can put a good word for them with the headmaster when they're done here."

The king wanted to disagree as everyone looked at him, but he was not up for it after such a tiring morning. He just let a brief sigh.

"Alright, but please don't burn the castle down!" The king requested.

"Clam down, Eggred dear." The queen took her husband by and the arm and led him out of the room. "Let's go tell the townspeople what happened."

When the king and queen were gone, everyone began to help Merlok clean up the study.

"So what were you working on Merlok?" Robin asked; picking up a hand full of paper.

"Well you see, Festaville is having a fireworks show in a couple of weeks." Merlok explained as he resumed his work. "And the mayor asked me to make some of my famous flaming dragon rockets for the event."

Festaville was one of Kington's neighbouring towns. It was famous for holding different shows, carnivals and festivals throughout the year.

"Why don't you just use one of your firework spells? Those are less likely to blow up the castle." Lance questioned; cleaning his nails instead of cleaning up.

"The mayor asked him to do it, Lance." Macy corrected; shoving a pile of paper into Lances arms.

"Yes, that's quite true." Merlok continued; putting powdery ingredients into a container. "But as much as I love that spell, it's nice to do things the old fashioned way once in a while. Now where did I put that fire salt?"

Merlok looked around on his desk for the missing ingredient. Clay spotted a jar with red powder under the table with contents inside that looked like what the wizard was talking about.

"Is this it, Merlok?" The knight asked as he reached for it and handed it to the elderly wizard.

Merlok looked at the jar as he examined the contents inside.

"Yes that's it; thank you, Clay." The wizard took the jar and opened it.

While Merlok gently placed a small amount of the fire salt in the firework shell, Clay thought about what happened on his way to the castle.

"Something happened on my way to the castle today." The Knight began to explain.

"Really? Like what?" Robin asked while Clay got everyone's attention.

"I ran into that old man again. He tried to offer me a job." Clay explained.

"Does he wear a dark purple robe that covers his face?" Ava questioned; putting paper in the recycling bin.

"And does he hang around with an Italian guy? I've seen them around town a few times." Lance added.

"Yeah, and that guy he hangs around with said something quite insensitive about Merlok." Clay answered back.

Merlok stopped what he was doing and looked up at Clay.

"Really? What did he say?" The wizard asked, as if it wasn't about him.

Clay hesitated for a moment before he answered.

"He called you a fool." The knight answered unwillingly.

"Hey, he can't say that!" Robin shouted angrily, dropping the papers he picked up.

"Calm down, Robin." Ava put her hand on the boys shoulder.

The Knights agreed with Robin.

"Oh, I won't worry about what one person said." Merlok went back to his work. "There will always be doubters. But no matter what anyone says or does to you, it shouldn't stop you from doing what you love and makes you happy."

Clay and the Knights stopped and thought about Merloks words. Robin calmed down and continued picking up loose paper. Merlok carefully placed a teaspoon of black power in the firework shell and sealed it inside. The wizard smiled in Triumph.

"I think it's done." He proclaimed; getting everyone's attention.

Merlok gently picked up the now finished firework and made his way to the balcony outside. The Knights and the two children followed him as he placed the firework on the balcony floor.

"Everyone stand back; I'm going to test this and make sure it works." Merlok warned as he gently pushed everyone back.

Everyone braced themselves as Merlok snapped his fingers; making a small flame in his hand. The wizard gently lit the fuse before running back inside. Everyone watched with suspense as the fuse became shorter and shorter, until disappearing into the shell. Everyone expected it to go off, but nothing happened.

"It didn't go off." Axl said; sounding disappointed.

Merlok scratched the side of his head with his staff.

"But I'm sure I got it right this-"

Within a split second, sparks erupted from the bottom of the firework and in a matter of moments; it flew high into the sky like a rocket with a high pitched whistle. Everyone ran onto the balcony to watch the firework do its thing. When the firework reached the peak of sky and stopped whistling, it exploded into a flash of colour and light. The Knights and the children watched in awe and excitement as the red, yellow and orange explosions took the shape of a dragon and flew in circles around the castle. The townspeople down below stopped what they doing and looked at the show above; cheering, laughing and applauding before the big finish. Robin stood on his toes as he watched the colourful sparks disappear.

"Merlok, that was insane!" The boy jumped up and down like he was on a sugar rush.

"Yeah man, that was wicked awesome!" Aaron added, smiling like an excited child.

Merlok laugh heartedly.

"Well if you think it was great now, wait until you see it in the night time." The wizard spoke proudly of his work.

"Are you going to make more of those?" Macy questioned with excitement in her voice.

"Indeed I am. And When I'm done making them, pack my bags and get a carriage ready! I'm off to Festaville first thing in the morning!"

* * *

 **AN: Just some things you might need to know about this AU. Merlok and You-know-who are still alive here.**


	2. Chapter 2

**_The Crumbling Castle_**

* * *

The next morning, the Knights and a squirebot named Kyle were helping Merlok pack a few boxes of fireworks into the back of a traveling carriage for the two hour trip to Festaville. Merlok was to be escorted by Aaron, Macy, Axl, Lance and the squirebot while Clay was to stay and watch over the study.

"That's all of them." Aaron announced as he put the last box in the carriage. "I think we're just about ready."

While Aaron, Axl, Lance and the squirebot were ready to go, Macy was saying goodbye to her father and mother were Merlok was saying goodbye to Clay.

"Now Macy, are you sure you want to go on a mission like this so soon?" King Halbert asked worryingly. "Festaville is so far away and there could be monsters out there."

Macy rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, as well as her mother.

"Dad, it's only a two hour trip to the other side of the mountains; I'll be fine." Macy tried to reassure.

"And there hasn't been any monsters seen in decades, Sweetie." Queen Halbert agreed with her daughter.

The king and queen hugged and kissed their daughter goodbye; telling her to be home in time for dinner and how much they love her.

"Well Clay, if you're not coming with us, at least let me bring something back for you." Merlok said as he shook the Knights hand.

Clay thought about it for a moment; smiling when he thought of something.

"Just a rose, please." The knight asked politely of his mentor.

"A rose? You always ask for that whenever I go out of town." Merlok replied with a hearty chuckle.

"And you always bring me one." Clay smiled warmly.

"Princess Macy, Merlok, are you ready yet?" Kyle the squirebot asked; ready to go.

Macy and Merlok quickly made their way to the carriage and hopped inside. When everyone was in, Kyle the squirebot made the carriage go as everyone inside waved goodbye. King and Queen Halbert and Clay waved back before the carriage made it outside the castle gates and into town. While going through town, a majority of people saw the carriage; some even waving as it passed by. But in the shadows, the hooded man and his accomplice Roberto watched as the carriage containing the royal wizard and four of the five Knights left town for the time being. The hooded man smiled under his hood; revealing an almost demonic looking grin with his yellow teeth.

"Now's our chance." The hooded man said with delight. "You have the watcher, artsy boy?"

Roberto reached into his pocket and pulled a golf ball sized stone.

"Here you go. I made it with all my love." He handed the stone into his masters' hand.

"You say that about all the soldiers."

Roberto rolled his eyes as the hooded man tapped the stone with his finger. In a few seconds, the stone cracked like an egg; turning into a small bat like creature made from stone. The creature let out a high pitched screech as it awaited orders.

"Go to the castle and spy on Moorington. Report back if anything comes up."

With that, the creature flew out of its masters hand took off towards the castle.

"So are you going to try and offer the knight a better job again?" Roberto asked as he cleaned his nails on his cloths.

"Please; you know that's not what I'm really doing." The hooded man answered. "I'm getting old. If I ever become ruler of this land, I'll need a new vessel so I can rule for as long as possible."

"But why him?"

"He's a knight. He's probably fit enough to lift two people on his shoulders."

Roberto turned his back to his master as he flicked a bit of fluff off himself.

"Shame that was what the other boy was for... right, Sig Monstrox?"

The hooded man went wide eyed and put his hand over Roberto's mouth; scaring the sculptor.

"Don't call me that out in the open! Everyone thinks I'm dead, and I want it to stay that way. For now." Monstrox whispered angrily.

Roberto nodded quickly; not wanting to be suffocated. Monstrox let go of the sculptor to let him breath before looking towards the castle; planning to approach Moorington when the midday bell rung.

* * *

Two hours away from Knighton, the carriage with Merlok and the four Knights was halfway to its destination. The weather above them was looking very cloudy with high chances of rain and thunderstorms. Kyle the squirebot looked at the map in his robot hands; thinking or at least hoping he was going the right way.

"Are we there yet?" Aaron asked in a bored voice; laying back in his seat.

"Still a long way to go, Aaron." Merlok reminded the archer.

Macy looked out the window as the carriage went through the woods. The dark trees and the clouds up above made the view look like something from a horror story. The princess Knight turned her head back into the Carriage to see Lance combing his hair(again) and Axl was holding his stomach in discomfort.

"You ok, Axl?" Macy asked the big knight.

"I'm a little hungry." Axl answered as his stomach growled. "And I didn't bring a snack."

"Hey don't worry, big guy. When we get to town, we can get a big roast boaring for lunch." Aaron reassured.

Just as Axl started thinking about how delicious roast boaring would be, the carriage came to a halt; making Lance fall out of his seat. The rich Knight quickly sat back up and ran his hand through his hair.

"I've been combing my hair for the last two hours!" He said in an angry and sad voice.

Macy poked her head out the window to see what happened. Her eyes went wide when she saw that a large tree had been struck by lightning and fallen over; blocking the path to town on the cross road. Merlok poked his head out the window and also went wide eyed.

"Oh my." The wizard gasped at the sight.

"What happened?" Aaron asked curiously.

"I-i think the tree might have been struck by lightning at some point." Kyle spoke with a nervous stutter. "Should I take the other path?"

"I suppose we'll have to. Kyle, go that way until we find another path." Merlok ordered; pointing at the unblocked path.

"Yes, Merlok!"

Kyle made the carriage go forward into the open path; looking a bit nervous. As the carriage went further into the path, the forest turned dark and the trees around were dead and lacking leaves. Macy and Aaron looked out the window and noticed something odd about the ground. It started out all green and grassy, but as they moved foreword it slowly turned white and the trees were covered in white.

"Is that snow?" Aaron questioned; baffled by the sight.

"In the middle of June?" Macy added in disbelief.

As the carriage went further down the unknown path, Merlok began to feel uneasy. As if something bad was about to happen. The wizard rubbed his head, trying to sooth the feeling.

"Are you alright, Merlok?" Axl asked out of concern.

"Something is amiss." Merlok said in a worried tone.

Kyle gently stopped the carriage when everyone heard a howling noise. The squirebot started shaking as he looked around for what made the sound while everyone else stayed still. A low growling noise from behind the carriage made Kyle stop shaking and freeze up. Lance and Aaron looked behind the carriage to see a pack of wolves with piercing yellow eyes. Everyones nerves went up when the vicious and aggressive animals growled louder.

"Kyle, step on it!" The Knights shouted in unison.

Kyle did just that and put the carriage on full speed as the Wolves chased after them. The carriage was going fast enough to bump against the road; making some of the boxes of fireworks fall out of the back. But that wasn't enough to stop the wolves. Kyle kept his eyes on the road ahead as Lance order him to go faster. Macy, Aaron and Axl looked out front to see a big iron gate ahead. Kyle rushed the carriage through the gate, but came to a halt at a bridge beyond the gates.

The Knights watched as the wolves closed in, but the gates shut on them. The wolves barked, roared and growled as their pray got away, but Macy and Aaron stared as the predators retreated.

"Did those gates close by themselves?" Aaron questioned; thinking he imagined it.

"I think they did." Macy answered in disbelief.

Axl got up out of his seat and climbed out of the carriage; making it shake as he stepped out. The big Knight looked around while scratching his head; wandering where he and his friends were. Axl looked at the bridge in front of them. But he went wide eyed at what was beyond the bridge.

"Hey guys; get a look at this!" Axl called everyone to come out.

Macy, Lance, Aaron and Merlok climbed out of the carriage while Kyle climbed off. They looked in the direction where Axl was looking, and they went wide eyed as well.

Ahead of them was a giant castle made of red stone and rock. Most of the towers on it were pointed and crooked; giving it a semi gothic look. But it looked like it was falling apart and covered in a thick layer of snow.

"Whoa; that place looks wicked, man!" Aaron said in amazement.

"It looks terrifying!" Kyle said opposite of Aaron.

"Who would put a castle all the way out here?" Axl wandered.

"Someone who's rich and loaded, of course." Lance answered.

Merlok put his hand to his head as the uneasy feeling became stronger. Macy noticed how the wizard was struggling and quickly gave him support.

"Merlok, what's wrong?" She asked in worry.

"There's something in that castle." The wizard stood back up; using his staff for support. "Someone in there is in great pain."

"You think someone in there is hurt?" Aaron questioned; looking towards the castle.

"Well we gotta go help them!" Axl proclaimed; readying his axe.

"Wait! There's dark magic surrounding this place." Merlok warned. "We must proceed with caution."

"Please; caution is my middle name." Lance boasted proudly; readying his lance and shield.

Aaron laughed a bit as he readied his energy bow.

"I thought it was Leslie!" Aaron joked; getting an annoyed glare from Lance.

Kyle looked at the group nervously when Macy readied her mace and the group started making their way towards the castle. The squirebot looked back to the gate; jumping in fear when he heard a howl. The squirebot ran after the Knights and the wizards.

"Wait; don't leave me alone, please!" He shouted as he caught up to them.

Kyle ran behind Macy as the group crossed the bridge. Axl looked over the side; feeling a little sick when he saw a moat full of lava. How could lava and snow exist in the same place? Merlok said that he could sense dark magic; maybe that had something to do with it. The group reached the front entrance to the castle; being towered over by large iron doors. Axl was about to push the door open. But it opened inward on its own. The Knights took a step back as the iron doors made a metallic creaking sound. Merlok walked ahead and entered; followed by the brave Knights and the fearful squirebot. When inside, the Knights looked around; noticing that the inside of the castle looked a bit less grim then the outside did, but it was dirty and unkept. Macy looked up a giant set of stairs; wandering if there was anyone here at all.

"Ummmm. Hello?" She gently called out. "Is anyone here?"

"We don't wanna barge in or anything, but our friend said that someone here is great pain!" Aaron called out a bit louder.

"And we got lost in the woods!" Axl added.

Lance looked around the large entryway of the castle; appalled by all the dirt and dust. Kyle the squirebot followed the Knight closely; looking around with a fearful squeak.

"Sir Lance, I think something might be watching us." The robot said in paranoia.

"Oh calm down, Kyle. It's not like some horrible creature is going to jump out at us." Lance disagreed; making Kyle freeze and look over his shoulder nervously.

Axl looked at some cracks on a wall; thinking the place could be old and falling apart. Axl stopped thinking about it when a small reached his nose. The big Knights eyes went big as he sniffed the air as he tried to figure out what it was that he smelt. A huge smile appeared on his face when he recognised the scent.

"Roasted boaring!"

Axl laughed excitedly as he followed the scent; going into another room lit by a fireplace on the other end of the room. The hungry Knight gasped when he saw long dining table stacked with freshly cooked food. A bowl with various fruits, a plate of bread rolls, a saucer filled with gravy... And two roasted boarings.

The sight made Axl made his stomach growl and rumble. The hungry Knight was tempted to take a leg from the big meaty boaring, but he didn't want to take anything from the table without permission from whoever lived in the castle. Axl looked around to see if anyone was in the room.

"Hello?" He called out. "This is a nice looking lunch you have out. I don't wanna be rube and intrude. But would it bother you if I took a leg off of that roasted boaring?"

Axl stopped smiling when he was answered with silence.

"Ok, but can I have a roll, maybe?... Please?"

The hungry knight twiddled his thumbs as he was answered with silence again; starting to feel creeped out. A light thump from behind made him turn around to see what it was. There was nothing there when he looked. Just a second later, a roll flew over Axls' head, hitting the wall and flying towards him. The Knight caught the roll in his hands; smiling before he turned around to thank who ever threw it.

"Wow, thanks pal; I was getting really-"

Axl fell silent and stopped smiling when he saw a flame creature standing across from him. The creature was shaped like a person, but its body was made from lava and fire with its head as a shapeless flame. Axl stood completely still as the creature sighed and rubbed the back of its neck.

"My brother said I shouldn't show myself because it might be scary." It said in a shrill voice. "Sorry."

Axl blinked before calmly putting the bread roll into a pocket in his armour for; feeling like he lost his appetite.

"That's ok. I don't mind." He said in a calm voice.

After few awkward seconds, Axl bolted out of the dinning in panic. Back in the entrance room, Merlok and Macy noticed that Axl disappeared from the group. The wizard and the mace wielding Knight looked around but he could not see him anywhere.

"Wait, where's Axl?" Merlok questioned.

"He was here a minute a-"

Before Macy could finish, Axl came charging in and picked up Macy by the shoulders; making her panic as he shook her.

"There's monsters in this castle!" Axl shouted in panic as he held Macy up and shook her up and down.

Before Merlok and the Knights could calm Axl down, a monstrous roar erupted from the top of the stairs and a soccerball sized creature flung itself at Kyle; making the squirebot fly backwards out the door and into the snow. Merlok and the Knights watched in horror as two giant monsters jumped from the top of the stairs; both made out of rock and lava with monstrous looking horns, while one had massive fangs and the other had one giant eye. A massive amount of smaller red devil like monsters and more ball monsters followed. Kyle got up out of the snow as the ball monster tried to attack him again, but the squirebot fought back and kicked it like a football; sending it flying back into the castle. But the iron doors closed shut; leaving Kyle outside in the snow.

"Ahhh! Oh no; this isn't good!" The squirebot panicked as he tried to open the doors; having no luck at all.

Kyle started running back and forth as he tried to think of what to do.

"I need to go get help! I need to Hurry!"

The squirebot ran across the bridge at lightning speed; running so fast he didn't bother to use the carriage. He had to get back to Knighton to get help for Merlok and the Knights.

Inside the now locked and monster infested castle; Merlok and Knights fought back against the hoard. But the sneer amounts of numbers were too much for the group of five and before they knew it, they were trapped in a rope and iron net. The Knights struggled against the net while Merlok stared in shock and horror at the monsters surrounding them. The monsters growled and snarled at the intruders.

"Let us go, you ugly monsters!" Macy shouted in retaliation.

"I can't be captured; I have a date tomorrow night!" Lance begged in a less then dignified way.

Arron and Axl continued to struggle and the monsters continued to intimidate the captured Knights.

"SILENCE!"

The growling and snarling immediately stopped upon hearing the command from atop the stairs. Merlok and the Knights looked up to see a figure jumping from the Stairs and landing on the ground floor. The monsters moved out of the way as the figure made his way to the captured group; the two giants even bowing as he passed. Merlok and the Knights watched as the mysterious being stopped in front of them. Upon closer inspection, he seemed thin but he was wearing a cloak that concealed most of his body and a yellow and dark purple hood resembling a pair of horns that hid his face. He stared down at the intruders; showing a pair of glowing yellow eyes. Merlok and the Knights could feel chills going up their spines as the figure continued to stare.

"Who are you?" The figure finally spoke in a voice filtered with electricity; gashing a set of white sharp teeth through the darkness of his hood. "What're you doing here?"

Everyone stayed silent, until Lance tried to explain.

"W-well we got lost in the woods and-"

"Not you!" The figure shouted; making Lance quiet.

Everyone tensed up as the figure pulled his cloak open and pointed at Merlok. The Knights stared at the figures hand and arm; freaked out by the blue colour of the skin and the moving marks resembling lighting.

"Speak, wizard."

The monsters watched as Merlok prepared to speak.

"We mean no harm." Merlok warned. "These Knights and I lost our way in the woods, and I sensed a got deal of dark magic here that was making someone stuffer."

The figures glowing eyes went wide when Merlok finished talking. But they quickly went back to being angry.

"Well, you found my castle." The figure spoke calmly. "But you're not welcome here, so you're trespassing!"

The monsters backed up as the Knights tried to explain themselves, but it just got worse. The flame creature from the dining room poked its head out the doorway to see what was happening.

"Look man, this is just a big misunderstanding." Aaron looked up at the figure as he tried to explain. "We were just trying to get to the next town."

"But the road was blocked." Axl added.

"Yeah, so we-"

"What are staring at?" The figure interrupted.

Merlok and the Knights didn't realise they were staring right at their captor. The monsters backed up a bit more; knowing what was coming next.

"We weren't staring at anything!" Macy still struggled against the net.

The figure did not listen.

"So you've come to stare at the beast, have you!?" He shouted at them in his electrical voice.

"No, we don't want any trouble!" Lance tried to reason.

"Too bad! You found trouble the second you barged in here!"

The figure looked at the two giant monsters; making them stand up and pay attention.

"Burnzie! Sparkks! Throw them in the dungeon!" He ordered.

"Yes, boss!" The giants both spoke with deep voices as they carried out the order.

The smaller monsters began to growl and snarl again as Burnzie and Sparkks grabbed the iron net and carried it downstairs into the dungeon. The Knights began to shout and beg in protest while Merlok watched through the tangles of the net as they were taken into a dark basement; the light disappearing as they went deeper into the depths of the castle.

* * *

 **AN: Gee. I wander who that was.**


	3. Chapter 3

_**The Old man**_

* * *

Clay stood on the tip of his toes as he picked out a book from one of the shelves of Merloks study. He knew Merlok would not mind. The wizard always let his friends and pupils read the vast selection of books and stories at his disposal. Merlok claimed that some of the books he had should not even exist yet. But Clay knew that the wizard was only joking. Clay took a seat on the floor and began to read the book he picked out: The Knights of the Red Rose. He already read that book more than ten times, but Clay just loved it for some reason. Maybe because it had things that Clay wanted in life. Adventure, action, far off places, daring sword fights, self-discovery, even someone who would change your life in disguise. Clay opened to the first page, but a weird feeling made him look up from the book. Clay saw a small spider across from him on the other side of the room. The knight carefully put the book down and quietly grabbed an empty mason jar and a sheet of paper from the shelve. Clay slowly and quietly made his way to the spider; hoping it would not notice him. When he got close enough, he quickly trapped the spider in the jar; sealing it in with the paper. Clay lifted the jar to his eye level; giving the spider a stern look.

"I know what to do with you." The knight thought as he left the study with the jar.

Clay made his way outside the front of the castle; holding the jar careful as he did so. When he got there, the knight got on one knee and opened the jar; letting the spider out in the open.

"Now don't let me catch you in there again, ok?" Clay thought, watching the small arachnid crawl away.

Just as Clay was about to go back to the study, he heard two familiar voices call his name. The knight looked up to see Robin and Ava waving and coming towards him. Clay smiled and stood up to greet them.

"Hiya, Clay!" Robin ran up and hugged the knight.

"Hey, you two." Clay hugged Robin back and lifted him in his arms. "What brings you here?"

"We heard you were minding the study for Merlok." Ava explained.

"So we decided to come visit you." Robin said with a big smile on his face.

"The teacher didn't show up again?" The knight joked, even though he knew it was Saturday.

"Nobody showed up for school today!" Robin joked back.

While Clay, Robin and Ava laughed and starting talking, they did not know that they were being watched by Monstrox and Roberto.

"So what is it that you plan to do again?" Roberto asked of his master.

"Well, perhaps I can get Moorington to see a different side of old Merlok." Monstrox explained as he brought out his cane and hunched over to make himself look old. "One that's not so great and all mighty."

Roberto rolled his eyes and leaned against the wall as he watched Monstrox make his way to the middle of the street; making himself look lost to get the Knights attention. As Clay talked to Robin and Ava, he noticed the old man wondering the streets outside the castle gates. Robin and Ava noticed as well.

"Hey, isn't that the guy you talking about yesterday?" Robin asked the knight.

"Yeah, that's him." Clay answered as he watched the man wondering aimlessly. "He looks confused."

"Perhaps he's lost." Ava suggested.

"Maybe we should see what's wrong with him." Robin also suggested.

Clay agreed; thinking it was the right thing to do. But Ava was a bit suspicious. She wandered why his accomplice was not with him. But she went along with it as Clay and Robin made their way towards the old man.

"Pardon me, sir." Clay called out to the elderly man as he lifted Robin onto his shoulders.

Monstrox turned to see the knight coming towards him with two children by his sides. He kept his persona up and smiled under his hood.

"Why hello there, young knight." He spoke with an old sounding voice.

"Are you lost, sir?" Ava asked, putting her hands on her hips.

"Well now that you mentioned it, I was on my way to the market. But I keep forgetting where they are."

"Would you like us to take you there?" Clay kindly offered.

Monstrox grinned under his hood.

"Thank you, I appreciate that."

As Clay, Robin and Ava lead the old man to the town market; Ava observed the odd features of the man; like how he always covered his face with his hood.

"So, my boy." Monstrox spoke to Clay as he walked. "I noticed that Merlok and your friends are absent today."

"They're on a mission with Merlok." Clay answered.

"They're delivering fireworks to Festaville for the big annual fireworks festival." Robin finished the answer for Clay.

"Oh, so the wizard's still into fireworks, is he?" Monstrox commented.

Ava raised an eyebrow when the old man spoke.

"Why are you so interested in Merlok?" The child prodigy questioned; her suspicion rising.

"Oh, I just heard that he had quite an interesting life back in the day." Monstrox answered rather blankly.

"He does. He's quite the mentor." Clay agreed. "He's the reason I became a knight."

"And I heard one time when the kingdom was under attack by the evil necromancer Monstrox and his army of monsters; he single handily took them all on and won!" Robin excitedly proclaimed; throwing his arms in the air. "Merlok totally destroyed Monstrox!"

Monstrox stopped smiling when Robin stopped talking; now frowning under his hood.

"Perhaps he did. But I do wander though." Monstrox continued as they neared towards the market. "Did he really do it?"

Clay, Robin and Ava looked at the old man in confusion.

"Did what?" Robin asked.

"Did Merlok really destroy Monstrox?" Monstrox debated. "He could still be alive for all we know. He could be plotting his next move this very moment."

"I don't think that's possible. No one really knows if Merlok killed Monstrox, but he hasn't been seen for years." Clay explained.

"And if he wasn't killed in the battle, he could be dead by now anyway." Ava added to the explanation.

"I wouldn't count on that you little brat." Monstrox sneered in his head.

The group made it to the market place after the long conversation between them and the old man.

"Are you going to be ok by yourself, sir?" Clay asked out of kindness.

"Oh I'll be fine, young knight; I'm just buying some things for dinner, nothing an old fella like me can't handle." Monstrox replied.

"Ok, bye mister." Robin waved goodbye.

Clay, Robin and Ava turned around to go back to the castle. When they were not looking, Monstroxs' eyes glowed bright yellow as he sneered at them.

"Bunch of Merlok worshipping brats." He quietly growled as he left the market and left town.

On the way back to the castle, Ava had her hand on her chin in thought. She could not help but feel like something was up with that man; thinking there was something odd under that hood. Metaphorically and physically.

"That guy was weird." Robin thought so as well as he Clay let off his shoulders. "The way he said that Monstrox could still be out there."

The young boy looked up at Clay when he was back on the ground.

"Do you think he's right, Clay?" Robin asked the knight.

"I don't think so Robin." Clay answered honestly. "If Monstrox was still around, there would be monsters running around and causing havoc."

The knight gave Robin and Ava a reassuring smile.

"And there're no monsters around, so I think we're safe."

"MONSTERS!"

Clay and the kids jumped as they heard a robotic screaming voice coming towards them. Several townspeople watched in confusion and surprise as a squirebot came running down the street. Clay did not recognise the squirebot until he rammed into the knight; knocking him backwards onto the ground. Ava and Robin quickly ran over to see if Clay and the squirebot were ok. Clay sat up off the ground and looked at the panicking squirebot. The knight went wide eyed when he looked at him.

"Kyle?" He recognised the robot.

"Sir Clay! Something horrible has happened!" Klye waved his robot hands in air as he panicked.

Ava and Robin looked around; realising who was missing.

"Where're Merlok and the others?" Robin asked in concern.

"WewereonourtoFestavillebutthepathwasblockedup!" Kyle tried to answer, but he was talking way too quickly. "Sowetooktheotherpathbut wegotattackedbyapackofviciouswolvesbutwefoundacastle surroundedbysnowandlavawhichshouldbeimpossiblesowentinsidetoasksomeoneforhelpthensirAxlwonderedoffbecauseHESMELLEDFOODANDTHEN-"

Clay quickly put his hand over Kyles' mouth; making him freeze and quiet down.

"Kyle, I'm going to take my hand away. And when I do, I want you to tell us what happened calmly and slowly. Alright?" The knight instructed.

The squirebot nodded quickly before Clay took his hand away. He took a deep breath before he spoke.

"MERLOK AND THE KNIGHTS HAVE BEEN CAPTURED BY MONSTERS!" Kyle shouted at the top of his speakers.

Robin looked at the robot in shook as Clay stood up off the ground.

"What!? How did this happen!? Where are they!?" The knight questioned with worry.

"The path to town was blocked so we took the other one and we got lost." Kyle explained.

"But monsters haven't been seen since Monstrox was defeated." Ava tried to make sense of it.

"I know; that's why I'm so horrified right now!"

"We need to tell the king and queen about this!" Clay said before running off to the castle.

Robin, Ava and Kyle ran after the knight. When Clay reached the castle, he rushed through the hallway and came to a halt in the throne room. King Halbert and Queen Halbert were playing a game of chess at the time.

"Check mate." Her majesty announced with a cheeky grin while king Halbert rubbed his head in confusion.

"Your majesty!" Shouted into the room, getting the attention of the royals and a group of squirebots.

"Clay, what's wrong?" Queen Halbert asked.

"Did one of the squirebots have a malfunction again?" The king asked as he reset the chess pieces.

"Merlok and the Knights have been captured!" Clay answered fearfully.

Queen Halbert gasped and put her hands over her mouth while king Halbert dropped the chess pieces. Robin, Ava and Kyle made it to the throne room as Clay delivered the news.

"Wh-What happened!?" The king questioned as he stood up; terrified as he spoke. "Where were they taken!?"

"They're in a castle surrounded by Lava and snow!" Kyle answered as he bowed down.

"Snow?" A squirebot questioned.

"In June?" Another squirebot added.

"With Lava?" Ava also questioned; thinking it all to be impossible.

"We need to send a rescue party now!" King Halbert proclaimed nervously.

"I'll go." Clay volunteered.

"I'm going with you!" The queen proclaimed.

"Sweetheart, you can't!" The king objected in shook.

"Eggred, I am not going to stand aside when our daughter is danger!" The queen snapped at her husband.

"I'm afraid the king is right, your highness." Clay objected. "I want to save Macy as much as you do, but we can't put your safety at risk."

The queen wanted to disagree, but she could not. Her majesty ran up to Clay and hugged him.

"Please bring our daughter home." She begged as she held the knight.

"I will." Clay promised.

Clay looked up to the king as he turned to the group of squirebots.

"You three; prepare a vehicle for Sir Clay and this squirebot! And gather at least seven of our best soldiers!"

* * *

Clay put his helmet on as he climbed into a large sword shaped vehicle with a side car attached on the right hand side. Kyle held onto his helmet as Clay started the vehicle, raced out of castle and onto the hallo bridge above the town. Seven soldier squirebots on hover horses followed Clay as he raced out of town and went the way his friends went; determined to rescue them no matter what the cost.


	4. Chapter 4

_**The deal**_

* * *

"Stop right here!"

Clay did as Kyle said and stopped at the fallen tree; making the squirebots behind them stop; almost running into each other with their hover horses.

"Is this it?" Clay asked to make sure.

"Yeah, this is the path to the castle." The squirebot pointed ahead.

Clay started the vehicle again and went straight ahead with the squirebots following closely behind. Clay watched the road as the atmosphere began to change. The ground and trees turned white with snow, just as Kyle said. A broken box filled with fireworks and a trail of wolf prints were on the ground.

"This must've been where the wolves were." He thought as he glanced and put his focus back on the road.

Clay slowed down as they reached the gates of the castle. He stopped at the end of the bridge; making the squirebots behind him stop as well. The knight looked up at the castle as he got out of the vehicle; feeling his insides going cold. But he could not stop now. He turned to face Kyle and the other squirebots.

"Kyle; you stay here and mind the hover horses. Make sure their ready when we get out of here." Clay instructed.

"Yes, sir!" The squirebot gave a salute.

"The rest of you are coming in with me."

"Yes, sir!" The soldier squirebots shouted as they followed the knight.

As they made their way over the bridge, Clay readied his sword and shield. The Squirebots readied their weapons while looking over the side of the bridge; quickly backing off from it when they all saw the lava down below. Clay stood in front of the iron doors before they opened on their own. The squirebots started shaking in their armour while Clay gripped the handle of his sword.

"Search every inch of this place. If you see anything dangerous, don't be afraid to fight back." The knight instructed before splitting everyone off in groups.

Clay and one of the Soldier squirebots went into one of the rooms on the first floor while the other six wondered into different places.

Two of them went into the dining room. One of them looked under the table; finding nothing while the other looked around near the fireplace.

"Found anything?" The one under the table asked.

"Nope." The other replied.

"You have got be the stupidest brother I ever had!"

The two squirebots heard a voice coming from another room.

"I'm the only brother you have, idiot!" Another voice could be heard.

The two squirebots quietly tiptoed to the room as they heard the voices arguing with each other.

"Magmar said hide and don't let anyone see you, and you just throw a roll at one of them!"

"I thought he would go away if I gave him food; he said he was hungry!"

"He would've went away eventually, you matchhead!"

"Don't you call me matchhead, block fist!"

"Lava mouth!"

"Sulphur for brains!"

The two squirebots poked their heads through the doorway to see what was going on. Their robot jaws almost dropped when they saw two monsters arguing with each other. One of them looked like it was made out of burning charcoal, with big fists at its sides and hot glowing spikes on its shoulders while the other one was made of lava and fire and had a flame for a head.

"Sissy!" The burning charcoal monster insulted the other.

The fire monster started growling, making its flame head bigger; turning into a big wild fire.

"DON'T CALL ME A GIRL, YOU STUPIDHEAD!" Th flame creature starting shouting the other "YOU'RE A JERK, MOLTOR! I'VE BEEN PUTING UP WITH YOUR GARBAGE EVEN WHEN WE WERE-"

The flame creature stopped yelling and froze. It slowly turned its head to the doorway; making the squirebots back away so they wouldn't be seen. They both put their hands over their mouths as they heard the monsters speak to each other.

"Moltor?"

"What?"

"I think we've got visitors."

The squirebots looked at each other when they heard nothing. The one closest to the doorway turned his head when he felt something hot next to him. The two robots froze when they saw two smiling monsters staring at them.

"GOTCHA!" They both shouted as the squirebots screamed.

* * *

Two of the other Squirebots looked through a living room area. One of them looked under a couch while the other was looking at a broken mirror; shattered into countless pieces.

"Man I'd hate to be the guy who did this." He said as the other squirebot came over to look.

"I bet he got some really bad luck from that." The other joked.

"Oh, you have no idea."

The two squirebots heard a voice behind them. They turned around to see a woman smiling at them from behind the couch. They stood still with their mouths open as they stared at her. The darkness of the room made her hard to see. But they could make out her long hair and her Curvy upper body, while her lower body was unseen because of the couch.

"What brings you boys here, might I ask?" She spoke in a lustful tone of voice.

The two squirebots tried to get words out, but their processors seemed to have slowed down.

"We uhhhhhhh. We're looking for some Knights." One of them managed to say.

"A-a-and a wizard." The other added.

The woman let a short laugh.

"I'm afraid I haven't seen any Knights or wizards here." She ran her fingers across the couch. "But I know something else you might be interested in."

The robots tried to smile; feeling their servers warming up.

"L-like what?" They stuttered.

The woman smiled with a pair of shape teeth through the dark and opened a pair of glowing yellow eyes. The squirebots watched as she came out from behind the couch. The robots were expecting a pair of legs. But instead, it was a snake tail. Their smiles turned into shocked faces as the monster woman brought out a pair of flaming whips; showing her red skin and scale covered body.

"Your GREATEST FEAR!" She roared as she cracked her whips; making the two squirebots scream.

* * *

Clay and the squirebot he paired with looked around the bottom of the stairs; thinking that there might be something there.

"I think I just felt something." The squirebot whispered, shaking his spear in fear.

"It's ok to be nervous to in a place like this, buddy." Clay replied, still looking around.

Clay stopped when he noticed a torn curtain on the wall. The knight inspected it closely; looking for clues. The knight pushed it to the right; revealing an unlocked door. As Clay opened the door, the squirebot noticed something dripping and hanging over his head. When he heard a growl, he looked up and screamed when he saw a red ball monster lunging at him. Clay turned around to see, but he fell backwards when the monster lunged at him. Clay could hear the squirebot running and screaming in fear as the knight fell down a flight of stairs. Clay yelled painfully as he fell; dropping his sword and shield as hitting the bottom, and groaning as he sat back up on the cold floor.

"I really wasn't expecting that." The knight groaned as he rubbed his now sore limbs.

"Clay?"

Clay looked up as he heard a familiar voice.

"Clay!"

He turned around to see where the voices were coming from. A prison cell was ahead of him with Aaron and Macy holding the bars on the inside. Clay quickly picked his equipment and ran to the cell.

"Guys, you're ok!" He smiled with relief when he saw his friends.

His smile faded when he saw Merlok, Axl and Lance in the corner of the cell. Merlok had his head down; staring at the floor blankly while Lance and Axl watched over in concern and worry.

"Merlok?"

"He's not talking." Axl answered in worry.

"He's been like this since we got here." Lance added.

Clay looked at the wizard with growing worry. He almost looked distant and disoriented.

"I need to get this cell open." He thought as he looked for something to open the cell.

"Clay, you gotta get here!" Aaron warned.

"Hey, don't tell him to leave us here!" Lance argued.

"If Clay stays here, he's going to get caught!" Aaron argued back.

Clay did not listen. He kept looking for anything that could open the cell. The knight looked to the left to see a lever on the wall; making him beam with hope.

"Don't worry guys! You'll be out of here in a mo-"

Clay felt something wrap around his ankle and pull on him; making him fall down on his front. Macy and Aaron watched in horror as the snake woman dragged Clay away from the lever and pulled him across the floor. Another female monster in armour and a hood grabbed him and held him by his arms behind his back. Clay struggled to get free, but it was for nothing. The snake woman grabbed Clays' helmet and pulled it off; making Clay glare at the creature as she grinned at him.

"Six visitors in one day?" The snake creature spoke playfully. "That's a new record."

"What do you think we should do with him, Whiparella dear?" The other monster asked with a devilish smile.

The creature called Whiparella opened her mouth to answer.

"What's going on in here!?"

She went silent and wide eyed when she heard the electrical voice. Clay and the two monsters looked up to see the hooded figure and two more monsters coming down the stairs. One of them was big and masculine; with red skin, a long black ponytail and a piece of armour covering the lower half of his face. The other had a hood on without a shirt, an eyepatch on his right eye and leather cross straps on his chest with a metal plate In the middle. He was holding onto two leashes with orange coloured ball monsters attached to them; keeping them from attacking Clay. Whiparella bowed her head to the hooded figure.

"Master Jestro! We have another intruder, and he brought more with him." She explained.

The figure known as Jestro glared at Clay through his hood. Clay glared back before speaking up.

"I've come for my friends."

"Who are you?" Jestro questioned.

"My name is Clay Moorington. I'm one of the five Knights of Knighton and I've come to take the other four Knights and the royal wizard away from here." Clay explained in detail.

Jestro stared at Clay and rolled his eyes the other way; tired of today's events.

"That's not gonna happen." He simply said; turning to the stairs.

"Clay! Merloks' not looking so good!" Axl yelled from inside the cell.

"You can't keep them here like this! They might get sick and die in this dungeon!" Clay tried to get through the stranger and his monsters.

"THEN THEY SHOULDN'T HAVE TRESPASSED HERE!" Jestro snapped at Clay with a distorted voice.

"If you don't let them go, me and my team of squirebots will make you pay the price!"

Jestro turned back from the stairs to look at Clay as he slowly walked towards him. The monsters and the Knights watched; feeling a mass amount of tension rising as Clay tried to stay strong.

"You'll make me pay?" Jestro repeated.

Clay kept a determined and stoic face as Jestro stared into his soul.

"What could you possibly do to me?"

Clay, the Knights and the monsters watched as Jestro lifted his hands from under his cloak. Clays' eyes went wide when he saw his blue skin tone and the torn yellow and purple clothes underneath. Jestro grabbed the rims of his yellow and purple hood; staring at Clay dead in the eye as he pulled it back. The knights looked in shock and horror at the unnatural appearance of their captor while Clay simple stared with wide eyes. Along with the blue skin, he was covered in marks that moved on their own like lightning. His eyes were an eerie yellow with the whites being black like death and his hair was wild, unkept and white. His ears were pointed and he looked like he was wearing black lipstick. Jestro stared at Clay like he stared at him.

"What could you possibly do that is worse than this?" He asked, showing his sharp fang-like teeth.

Clay could not say a word. Not even a gasp. He just stayed silent.

"I thought as much." Jestro muttered before turning to his monsters. "Magmar, show him the door!"

The masculine monster with the face covered by armour came towards Clay and grabbed him by the arm; ready to throw him out. Jestro began to go back up the stairs.

"No wait; stop!" The knight tried to keep his place on the ground. "I'll make you a deal!"

Jestro stopped in his tracks and turned back around. He raised an eyebrow in interest.

"Hold it!" He ordered Magmar to stop.

Magmar looked up at him with disbelief.

"Sir, he's becoming a distraction!" The monster reminded.

"I said stop, Magmar!" Jestro repeated.

He looked down at the knight as Magmar let go and backed away. The Knights and the monsters watched the scene that was about to unfold.

"What're you offering?" Jestro crossed his arms impatiently.

"If you let my friends go free, you can have me as your prisoner instead." Clay offered.

The Knights all looked at Clay like he was insane.

"Clay, no!" Macy protested.

"Don't do it man!" Aaron warned.

"We can find a way out of here!" Axl insisted.

"Shut it!" Whiparella cracked her whip; making the Knights quiet.

Jestro thought about it for a moment; trying to understand what the knight is doing.

"You want to take their place?" The electric filter in his voice disappeared as he spoke.

"If I did, would you let them go?" Clay asked.

Jestro looked at him with a blank face.

"Yes. But you must promise to hold your end of the bargain and stay here til I say otherwise." Jestro warned; giving the knight the option of changing his mind.

Clay looked at his friends in the cell; watching as they shook their heads and telling him not to go through with it. Clay turned back to Jestro. The monsters watched and waited as he made his choice. Clay got down on one knee and bowed his head down.

"You have my word." Clay made his choice.

"NO!" The Knights shouted through the cell.

"Very well, knight. Lavaria, release the prisoners." Jestro requested.

"Yes, sir!" The female monster in the hood and armour did as she was told.

She pulled the lever on the wall and opened the cell. As soon as it was open, the Knights gathered and around Clay and group hugged him. Merlok snapped out of his daze. The wizard looked around as he stood up; using his staff for support.

"Well, get in the cell, knight boy!" The monster with the eyepatch shouted impatiently.

"Hey, let us say goodbye to Clay!" Axl shouted back.

"Forever can spare a minute!" Macy added.

The monsters looked up at their master.

"You can have one minute with him; then you leave." Jestro reminded.

The Knights held their friend tightly; not wanting to let him go.

"Please don't do this, Clay." Macy begged.

"We can get you out of here." Aaron added.

"I'll give them ten buckets full of cash so they don't take you!" Lance held onto Clay.

Clay tried to comfort his friends as they hugged him tightly.

"Don't worry, my friends." He reassured them with a whisper. "I'll escape; I promise."

Axl sniffed as he tried to hold back tears. The big Knight reached into his pocket and took out the bread roll he took from the dining room. He handed it to Clay with a shaking hand.

"You should take this." He said with quivering voice as Clay gently took the roll. "In case they don't give you any food."

Merlok walked out of the cell to see what was happening. The wizard looked around to see the Knights in a group hug and monsters standing around impatiently.

"Clay? How did you get here?" The wizard asked in confusion.

They Knights broke up their group hug so Clay could talk to Merlok. Clay gave the wizard a melancholy look before he hugged him. Merlok gave the knight a confused look before hugging back.

"Merlok, you might not see me for a while." Clay whispered so the monsters would not hear. "But I'll find a way out of here."

Merlok only just registered what Clay was saying before he replied.

"Clay, listen to me; someone in this castle needs your help." The wizard warned.

Clay looked up at the wizard in confusion. Was someone else trapped here? Before Clay could ask, the monster known as Lavaria grabbed him by the arm while Whiparella took his sword and shield from him.

"Times up." Magmar said as began to lead the wizard and the other Knights out.

Clay watched his friends being pushed and dragged out of the dungeon as he was put into the cell. He continued to watch as the door closed on him; leaving him in the dark.

Jestro ordered the two giant monsters and the one with the eyepatch to come to him.

"Sparkks, Burnzie, Beast master; Show them the way out." He pointed to the Knights and the wizard.

"Yes, boss." All three did as they were ordered.

The Knights struggled against the monsters as they were dragged and kicked outside. Macy looked up at them with hateful resentment.

"You can't do this!" She shouted at the one eyed monster called Sparkks.

"We're not leaving without Clay!" Axl yelled at the other monster called Burnzie.

"He's Jestros' problem now!" Beast master yelled back.

Just before they closed the iron doors, Burnzie and Sparkks grabbed the seven squirebots Clay had with him and threw them out the door. The Knights watched as they flew across the bridge; screaming and landing on Clays' vehicle and damaging it; waking up a startled Kyle. Merlok held the Knights back as the doors closed.

"We can't do anything right now. We need to go back to Knighton and make a plan." The wizard explained.

The Knights looked at each other before nodding in agreement. All they could do now was go back to Knighton with Kyle and the squirebots Clay brought with him. Then they would make a plan.

Jestro rubbed his forehead when the doors closed; feeling exhausted from everything that happened today.

"Well, that was a waste of time." Magmar spoke casually. "I'll go and see if Moltor and Flama are making dinner yet."

Jestro ignored Magmar as he walked away. He continued to rub his head as he proceeded to climb up the stairs to his room in the west wing.

"Jestro?"

He stepped in his tracks and turned back to see Whiparella and Lavaria looking at him from the first floor; holding Clays' sword and shield.

"What is it, Lavaria?" He asked, sounding tired.

Lavaria and Whiparella gave each other knowing looks before speaking up.

"Since the knight is going to be with us for quite some time, don't you think it would be best if we gave him a place that's a bit more... comfortable?" Lavaria suggested.

"Like a bedroom, maybe?" Whiparella added.

Jestro looked at the two monsters tiredly before answering.

"Do what you want. Just keep him out of my room." He continued up the stairs; looking forward to a nap.

Whiparella raised an eyebrow at Lavaria while she smiled back; before they began to make their way back into the dungeon.

* * *

 **AN: I know Jestro and the monsters are a bit rude here, but they'll get better.**


	5. Chapter 5

**_Prisoner_**

* * *

Clay sat in the corner of the cell with his knees close to his chest. His eyes were having trouble adjusting to the darkness, but he considered that to be the least of his worries. He kept seeing the faces of Macy, Aaron, Lance and Axl as they kept telling him not to take their place. How they did not want him to be locked away like this. He thought about what Merlok said to him; about someone here needing his help. Clay kept thinking that there might be someone trapped here besides him. The knight took a small bite out of the roll that Axl gave him as he tried to think of a way to escape of the cell and find the one who was also trapped in this castle.

Clay snapped out of his thoughts when he heard the sound of the door opening at the top of the stairs. His eyes widened when he saw light come through accompanied by footsteps and the sound of slithering. The knight quickly stood up and grabbed a stool laying around in the corner; intending to use it for defence.

"Don't come any closer!" He shouted from the cell.

Clay kept his guard up when he saw the two female monsters, Lavaria and Whiparella stop in front of the bars. Lavaria had Clays' sword and shield while Whiparella had her hands behind her back.

"Relax, knight. We're not here to hurt you." Lavaria explained as she pulled the lever.

Clay raised an eyebrow as the door opened; thinking it was some sort of trap.

"We've come to escort you to your room." Whiparella added.

Clay kept thinking this was a trap, but that last sentence just confused him.

"My, room?" He repeated in question.

"Yes; Jestro told us to make you comfortable." Lavaria answered.

Clay started to hesitate a bit as he tried to keep his guard up.

"How do I know this isn't some could of trick?" The knight questioned.

"Now listen; when Jestro said you had to stay here, he didn't mean here in this dark and damp cell." Whiparella explained as she crossed her arms impatiently.

"He felt quite guilty about it, actually." Lavaria explained; lying a bit.

Clay looked at the two monsters as he slowly put the stool down. He wasn't sure if he could trust anyone in this castle. But a bedroom sounded a lot better than a dungeon. Clay walked out of the cell and observed the two monsters.

"Who are you?" He questioned.

Whiparella closed the cell before turning to the knight.

"Well I'm Whiparella." She introduced herself, placing her hands on her hips.

Lavaria was about to introduce herself.

"What are you two doing?"

Clay, Whiparella and Lavaria looked up to the top of the stairs to see the monster known as Magmar standing there with his arms crossed in a judgmental manner.

"What is he doing out of his cell?" He asked; sounding impatient.

"Jestro told us to give him a room." Whiparella answered as she slithered up the stairs.

"But he's a prisoner. Prisoners belong in the dungeon-"

Whiparella cut Magmar off when she grabbed his hair and pulled; making the masked monster painfully silent. Whiparella whispered something to him that sounded something like "What do you want to be for the rest of your life", but Clay could not understand the rest of it. Whiparella let go of Magmar. He rubbed his now sore ear as he gave her a resentful growl before leaving the dungeon. Whiparella looked down from the top of the stairs; giving Lavaria and Clay a playful smile.

"Ready to go?" She asked as she began to leave.

Lavaria made her way up the stairs and out of the dungeon. Clay hesitated, but he followed them. As they made their way to the room, Clay looked around the castle; noticing how it seemed old and falling apart. The top of the stairs in the entrance room of the castle split three ways; to a large doorway in the middle, a hallway to the west and a hallway to the east.

"I hope you're not too terrified of us, sir knight." Lavaria tried to make conversation.

"I'm not scared. I'm just a bit freaked out because of all the monsters here." Clay explained; unintentionally sounding rude.

"Hey, I know we're monsters but we're not mindless animals." Whiparella answered. "So since you'll be staying with us for a while, you can go wherever you like in the castle."

"Except the west wing." Magmar corrected.

Lavaria and Whiparella looked at him and gave him angry looks before he realised what he just said.

"W-which we don't have!" He tried to lie about it.

Clay raised an eyebrow as he looked towards the steps leading to the west wing.

"Why? What's in the west wing?" The knight asked rather curiously.

"Nothing! Just storage space!" Lavaria quickly answered; trying to get the knight to be uninterested.

"You won't find anything interesting or scary in there." Whiparella smiled nervously.

Lavaria also had a nervous smile on; thinking they were just making it worse.

"Well then, onto the east wing! Or as I prefer to call it; the only wing!" Magmar tried to make a joke as he led the knight up the eastern staircase.

Clay kept looking back as the three monsters led him up the stairs and away from the entrance room.

"That must be where they're keeping the other prisoner." He thought as they entered the east wing hallway.

They kept walking until they reached a door at the end of the hallway. Magmar opened the door and stood aside.

"And this is where you'll be sleeping." He said as Clay walked inside.

Clay looked around the room; being pleasantly surprised. He thought it was going to be another dungeon, but it was the opposite. The bed was already made, but it was covered in a thin layer of dust; giving the impression that no one has slept in it for a long time. A wardrobe was in the corner of the room and a window was across from the bed. The walls were in well condition despite a few cracks and chipped paint, and it was rather bright compared to the rest of the castle.

"It's, quite nice." Clay finally spoke after looking around.

"Well, we hope it's comfortable enough." Lavaria entered the room and placed Clays' sword and shield on the bed.

Clay blinked out of confusion.

"You're not going to take my equipment away?" He asked.

"We don't really think you'll have much use for it. We're not going to hurt you or eat you if that's what you think." Lavaria answered as she backed off.

"We're not as horrible as we appear." Magmar added.

"And everyone is actually a bit excited about having a human here." Whiparella further explained.

"Ummmm... okay than." Clay was not sure how to answer.

As Clay rubbed the back of his neck, Lavaria developed a sheepish and playful smile on her face.

"In fact, Whiparella might even design something for you." She said in a not so subtle tone.

Whiparella gave Lavaria a confused look before she realised what she meant. The snake monster put her hands to her mouth as she gasped with delight, while Magmar sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Yes!" Whiparella squealed in joy; freaking Clay out a little as she came towards him.

Whiparella slithered around Clay and observed his features.

"Determined eyes and a proud face; He's a perfect canvas!" She proclaimed. "I shall make himself something fit for a prince!"

"Oh, I'm not a prince." Clay insisted.

Magmar stepped in and stopped Whiparella before she could get materials from the wardrobe in the corner.

"You can make garments for him later. We have to check how dinner is coming along." Magmar reminded.

Whiparella groaned in disappointment, but she followed orders then the less and followed Magmar out of the room.

"Dinner should be ready a bit later. Hope you like roast boaring." Lavaria said to Clay before leaving.

Clay stood alone as the door closed. When the monsters were gone, the knight went over to the wardrobe and opened it. He looked in to see a wide variety of materials and big ribbons. Clay got up and went over to the window. He carefully opened it; smiling a little when it was not locked. His smile turned into a scared frown when he looked out the window. The room he was placed in was at the top of a tower, and the bottom was a very long way down; making Clay dizzy as he looked. But the knight thought he could use it to escape.

* * *

King Halbert paced around the throne room in worry while queen Halbert tried to console him. A squirebot followed him around with a tissue box just in case he needed it. Queen Halbert sent Robin and Ava home when it became late and the sun began to set.

"Oh, I should never have let Macy go on that trip! I knew something like this would happen; I just knew it!" The king held his head as he continued to pace.

Her majesty ran up to her husband and grabbed him by the shoulders.

"Eggred, I know you're scared and so am I. But we need to stay calm and collected." She tried to comfort him.

The king was about to reply when Robin and Ava barged in with smiles on their faces.

"They're here!" They announced.

The queen and king looked at each other before running to the gates of the castle with the kids and squirebots following them. When they got there, they gasped when they saw a group of squirebots helping Merlok and the Knights out of the carriage; including their daughter. Kyle helped Macy out of the carriage as king Halbert ran to the group.

"Macy!" The king cried out as he hugged his daughter; making her yelp in surprise. "Oh thank goodness!"

Macy gently hugged back, but she broke away and looked at her father straight in the eye.

"Dad, Clay's in trouble! We need to go back for him!" The mace wielding knight spoke in desperation as the queen came towards them.

"Macy, what's wrong?" She asked.

"It's Clay! He's trapped in that castle!" Aaron began to explain.

"He's locked in a filthy dungeon!" Lance added

"We gotta go back and rescue him!" Axl further explained.

The king and queen watched as the Knights started to rumble and speak all at once.

"Everyone; stop!" Her majesty shouted; raising her hands.

The Knights fell silent to let the queen speak.

"Who has Clay locked in a dungeon?" She questioned; hoping for a calm and collected answer.

Macy was about to answer, but one of the squirebots that went with Clay ran up to the king and queen in a panic.

"MONSTERS! A HORRIBLE HORDE OF MONSTERS!" The squirebot shouted; making the squirebots that Clay took with him shake and hold each other in fear.

"Calm down, Jay." Kyle came up to the panicking squirebot and took him to the side.

The king and queen looked at each other in disbelief.

"But there haven't been any monsters seen in a century." King Halbert said; sounding a little afraid.

"I'm afraid it's true, sire." Merlok stepped forward. "A dark force is surrounding that castle and everything inside it."

"Well whatever this is, we can't just leave sir Moorington there." The queen proclaimed before turning to the squirebot with the tissue box. "Get my mace and armour ready and gather reinforcements!"

"Yes, your majesty!" The squirebot dropped the box to carry out his orders.

While they were getting ready to rescue Clay, the group had no idea that they were being watched. The watcher creature that Monstrox ordered to spy on Clay saw and heard everything that just happened. In a quick and quiet motion, the watcher snuck out of the castle through an open window and left town and began making its way back to its master.

* * *

 **AN: I read somewhere that Whiparella secretly has a pink dress, so I came up with this headcanon that she likes to design and make clothes.**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Sorry for this chapter being short. the next one will be longer.**

* * *

 _ **Monstrox**_

* * *

Near the mountains west of Knighton, there was an abandoned mine as well as an old abandoned tavern outside of it. Inside the mine was an army of monsters made from stone. Some were average human sized, some were big and destructive, some were just little rocks and some even looked just like gargoyles and harpies with wings. Some of the monsters were drinking some beer they got from the tavern and having a laugh while others while beating each other up. In the corner of the mine, Monstrox sat in a throne of stone while Roberto was making another sculpture. Monstrox had his arms crossed in an angry and irritated manner.

"Who do those brats think they are!?" He talked about today's events in town. "They think Merlok is great just because he stopped me that one time! What a load of bull flop!"

"Kids can be quite cruel and rube." Roberto continued working on his sculpture.

Monstrox grabbed a mug of beer as a monster walked by with a tray of it.

"Well back in the day, I was a force to be reckoned with! Even when Merlok beat me and my monsters, I was still going."

Monstrox took a sip of beer as he remembered some things from years ago.

"I mean, yeah I had to lay low for the next seventy years. But after that I got back to work. I was gonna take over Knighton with my new stone monster army. I even got a few people to join in."

Monstrox smiled a little as he talked. But it soon disappeared and turned into a grimace.

"But then that one kid messed up everything." He said with distaste. "When I was about to put my plan into action, he took my staff and broke it!"

Monstrox slammed his fist on the throne; making Roberto jump and look at him. He stared as Monstrox stared into space.

"He broke my staff and ruined my plan, just because he didn't want someone in Knighton to get hurt. Then I cursed him to teach him a lesson. Not sure if he really learned anything. And I lost all my human followers but you."

The necromancer took another sip as he thought about it more.

"Shame. He had so much potential. But he had morals unfortunately. He could've been like me. Powerful, handsome, good at the harmonica."

Roberto raised an eyebrow and sat away from his sculpture to look at his master.

"He was going to be like you because you were going to take over his body." The artist reminded; crossing his arms.

"Yeah, but still." Monstrox shrugged. "He was young and probably had a lot of years in him. He was scrawny and wasn't really fit but he didn't look too bad. And I was already teaching him magic, so he had a knack for it."

The necromancer took a big gulp of his beer; emptying the mug dry.

"I'm still ticked off about my staff though." He said as he threw the mug away. "But I'll have it good as new soon enough."

"At least you still have your bling." Roberto reminded.

Monstrox looked at his left wrist, which had a bracelet on it with several charms with ominous and frightening symbols.

"Yeah, but it's not enough to take over the kingdom. It's only enough to put a curse on someone." He explained. "If I ever want to fix my staff, I need Moorington. He has what I need to fix it."

Roberto was about to ask as the watcher came flying into the mine and landed on top of Monstroxs' throne. The necromancer smiled while the monsters stopped what they were doing and gave them their attention.

"Well look who's back. What's up?" Monstrox asked of the small creature.

The watcher made clicking sounds as it tried to communicate, but Monstrox and Roberto could not understand a thing. Monstrox looked towards the crowd of monsters.

"Hey, you!" He pointed to the one monster in front. "Come over here and tell us what batty here is saying."

The monster came forward and held out his arm. The watcher flew off the throne and landed on the monsters arm before making the noises again.

"Umm, he says that something happened at Knighton castle." The monster began to translate. "Merlok and the Knights went out of town, but they didn't come back. Clay went to look for them. They came back, but he didn't."

"What?! I need him for my plan!" Monstrox yelled out

"Calm down, boss. Deep breaths." Roberto tried to calm his master down.

"Hang on, there's more!" The monster said as the watcher made more noises. "Merlok said something. About Clay being trapped in dungeon. By, monsters?"

The watcher fell silent. The other monsters fell silent as they looked at each other in confusion. But one monster started to howl in laughter and soon, all the monsters started laughing.

"That's hysterical!" One monster shouted out in laughter.

"There aren't any monsters out there besides us!" A gargoyle yelled out as he held his sides.

"Looks like Merlok's finally losing his marbles!" Another gargoyle agreed.

"Yeah! Crazy old Merlok and his Knights think monsters still exist!" A harpy tried to hold back tears of laughter.

While the monsters were laughing their butts off, Monstrox sat back in his seat as he tried to process what he just heard. The knight he needed to fulfil his plan was now missing. He knew that this was going to slow things down, but something that he just heard made him think.

"Crazy old Merlok." The sentence echoed in the necromancers head. "Crazy old Merlok."

As Monstrox thought about it more, a devilish smile came through his hood. Roberto looked towards his master.

"What are you thinking about, capo?" The artist asked curiously.

"Do you know about that old abandoned looney bin in the dark woods?" Monstrox asked of his accomplice.

Roberto shuddered and shook as he recalled the place.

"The one where people disappear forever if they go inside? Why?" He answered back with a quiver in his voice.

Monstrox grinned with a ghoulish delight.

"I think I feel a plan coming on."


	7. Chapter 7

**_Dinner Refusal_**

* * *

Back at the castle, Moltor and Flama were in the kitchen and were almost finished making dinner. Flama opened the oven and pulled out the reheated roast boaring left over from lunch. The flame monster smiled as he smelled the food.

"Man, I'm starved." He muttered before turning around. "Hey Book keeper, come here!"

A short goblin monster that was messing around with pots and pans in the corner got up and ran over to Flama.

"You mind putting this on the table for me?" Flama requested; handing the roast to Book keeper.

Book keeper only responded with a cackle before taking the roast out of the kitchen and into the dining room. Just as he left, Magmar, Whiparella and Lavaria walked in.

"Is dinner ready yet?" Magmar asked.

"Almost; I'm just cooking the vegetables now." Moltor answered.

"I think Burnzie and Sparkks are setting the table." Flama answered.

In the dining room, Book keeper put the roast on table as Burnzie, Sparkks and Beast master finished putting plates, knives and forks on the table. The four monsters looked toward the doorway as they heard footsteps accompanied by a loud and electrified yawn. Jestro walked in rubbing his left eye; just waking up from the nap he took. Burnzie, Sparkkz, Book keeper and Beast master froze in place as Jestro looked over the table. He blinked when he noticed something was not right. On the nights when Jestro made an effort to come down for dinner, there were always ten plates on the table. There were eleven. Jestro looked up at Burnzie and Sparkks; making the two monsters still.

"Why is there an extra plate here?" Jestro questioned in suspension.

The two monsters tried to answer but nothing came out. Jestro was about to ask again when Magmar, Lavaria and Whiparella walked in.

"Jestro; you've decided to join us." Magmar proclaimed; trying to sound joyful.

Jestro raised an eyebrow at the sarcastic monster.

"Is there someone else joining us?" Jestro asked impatiently.

Lavaria stepped forward to answer.

"You said we could give him a room, but you didn't say anything about not giving him dinner." She answered; trying to sound firm and strict.

"Well, I didn't say anything about giving him dinner either." Jestro pulled a chair from the table and sat down.

Magmar could feel tension rising in the room.

"Perhaps I should go tell the prisoner that dinner's just about ready." He said before leaving the dining room.

Just as Magmar left, Flama and Moltor came in with vegetables and gravy.

"Ok, dinner's ready-"

Flama and Moltor fell silent when they saw Jestro sitting at the end of the table with a sour look on his face with the other monsters standing silently.

"Oh, please continue." Jestro broke the silence. "Don't stop just because I'm here."

Silence fell through the room. Whiparella decided to break it by bringing up an important topic.

"Jestro." She spoke up. "Have you taken any notice about the Rose lately?"

The other monsters waited for Jestro to answer; thinking he was going to yell at Whiparella for bringing it up. Jestro blinked at the snake woman before turning his head away.

"Not really." He lied.

"Really?" Burnzie asked. "You haven't noticed that the castle shakes when a petal falls-"

"Hey, shut up!" Sparkks jabbed him in the side with his elbow.

Jestro looked back to the monsters as Burnzie rubbed his side in pain.

"What of it?" He asked; trying to sound uninterested.

"Well, maybe this knight could help us." Lavaria suggested. "He could be the one to break to the curse."

Jestro just stared at Lavaria while Moltor started laughing. Lavaria and the monsters stared at the laughing monster.

"How is that funny to you?" Flama asked his brother in an annoyed tone.

"Look, I wanna be human again as much as you all do." Moltor stopped laughing and became serious. "But how are we supposed to make him fall in love with Jestro? He might not even go for the other team, if you know what I mean."

Whiparella gave Moltor an angry glare as she reached for her whips. She felt a hand on her shoulder.

"No he's right, Whiparella." Jestro stood up out of his seat. "Moltor's right."

Everyone watched as the expression on Jestro changed from bored and uninterested to sad and worried.

"The knight. He looks like those brave handsome ones from fairy tales that rescue princesses and fight dragons."

Jestro looked at his monster friends as he started to tear up.

"I look like something out of a horror movie."

Lavaria and Whiparella looked at each other with concern for Jestro.

"I didn't mean it like that." Moltor whispered in regret.

"Oh sweetie, you're not a horror movie monster." Lavaria tried to comfort and hug Jestro.

"You just need to get him to see past that." Whiparella reassured.

"I don't know how." Jestro shrugged.

"Well, you could try to make yourself presentable and act like a gentleman." Sparkks suggested.

"Be charming." Burnzie added.

"Yes; and when he comes in, give him a dashing but gentle smile." Whiparella suggested.

"Yeah, show us the smile." Beast master agreed.

Jestro hesitated for a moment before he tried to smile. He flashed a big sharp grin, but the monsters just looked freaked out by it.

"You'll scare him away if you smile like that." Moltor remarked.

Jestro stopped smiling and glared at Moltor while Flama hit his brother upside the head.

"Look, just remember, Jestro. When he comes in, stay calm and collected. And most importantly, don't lose your temper." Lavaria reminded and instructed.

Jestro nodded as he played around with his cloak.

"Stay calm and collected and don't lose my temper. I can do that." He said to Lavaria.

In that moment, Magmar came back to the dining room with his hands folded over his front and had an uncomfortable look in his yellow eyes. Jestro and the monsters looked at him; waiting for an answer.

"Magmar? Where is he?" Whiparella asked.

"Hm? Who?" Magmar replied.

"The knight?" Lavaria answered back.

Magmar stayed silent before realising what they just said.

"Oh! The knight! Well see, he is in the process of..."

Magmar hesitated to answer as Jestro raised his brow.

"Well circumstances being what they are..."

Magmar dropped the facade when Jestro and the other monsters stared right at him.

"He's not coming." He said in hesitated honesty.

Jestro stared at Magmar with wide eyes as they started to glow bright yellow and the lightning marks on his skin moved faster.

"Guess he doesn't like boaring." Moltor shrugged, hardly noticing Jestros' growing rage.

"WHAT!?" Jestro gave an electrified shout, making the monsters jump and step back.

In a split second, Jestro ran past Magmar and out of the dining room. The monsters chased after him, telling to wait and calm down, but he did not listen. He rushed into the east wing and reached Clays' room. He stopped in front of the closed door and slammed his fist against it repeatedly.

"Why have you not come down for dinner!?" Jestro yelled as the monsters caught up with him.

"I'm not hungry!" Clay called out from the other side of the door.

The monsters watched as Jestro continued to yell.

"You come out, or, I'll break down the door!" He threatened.

Jestro turned around to see the monsters looking at him.

"I don't think he'll come out if you keep yelling." Flama remarked.

"At least attempt to be kind." Whiparella begged.

"But he's being so difficult!" Jestro growled.

"Remember what we said; calm and collected." Lavaria reminded.

Jestro rolled his eyes and quieted down. He turned back to the door.

"Will you come down to dinner?" He asked in a calm voice.

On the other side of the door, Clay was using the bedsheets and fabrics from the wardrobe to make a rope so he could escape through the window. He stopped when he heard Jestro outside the room. Clay stood up off the floor.

"Why should I?" Clay replied angrily. "You took my friends as prisoners and you just expect me to have dinner with you?"

Jestro stared at the door as he started growling animalisticly; making the monsters step back.

"He's about to lose it." Beast master muttered.

"You can't stay in there forever!" Jestro warned with a shout.

"Yes I can!" Clay shouted back.

With that final remark, Jestro snapped.

"FINE! GO AHEAD AND STARVE! SEE IF I CARE!"

Jestro turned away from the door and stared at the monsters in rage.

"If he doesn't eat with me, than he doesn't eat at all!" He warned before storming off.

The monsters watched as Jestro stormed out of the east wing; knowing he was going to his room in the west wing.

"Well that wasn't as bad as I thought it would be." Sparkks remarked; making everyone stare at him.

Jestro pushed and opened the door to his room with an irritated grunt. Jestros' room was dark and unkept; only lit by melting candles. The room had a balcony showing a view of the bridge and the gates. On the balcony was a small table. On top of it was a faintly glowing rose inside a glass dome and a mirror next to it. Jestro paced around the room as he clutched his fists; walking past a shattered mirror and an old torn photo framed on the wall.

"I tried to be calm, collected and reasonable, but he just refuses." He muttered to himself as he paced. "What would he want me to do? Beg!?"

Jestro walked over to the table and picked up the mirror. He turned it over; seeing his reflection.

"Show me the knight."

The mirror began to react upon Jestros command. The mirror glowed as the reflection turned into a window; showing Clay in his room. Jestros' irritated expression softened as he saw Clay making the bed sheet and fabric ladder. Jestro knew what he doing. But he was not angry. Jestro put the mirror back on the table and turned away.

"I'm just fooling myself." He whispered softly. "He'll never want anything to do with me."

Jestro went over to his bed as a petal fell from the steam of the rose. When the petal hit the table, it wilted and crumbled into dust. The castle began to shake and bits of it crumbled like old stone. When the shaking stopped, Jestro got down on his knees and laid his head against the quilt of the bed. He covered his face as he felt the tears coming.

"It's hopeless." He quietly sobbed against the quilt.

The monsters felt the Tremors as they sat down in the living room. Magmar looked up as dust fell from the ceiling.

"Another rose petal fell." He muttered; knowing what was causing the tremors.

Flama kept the fireplace burning as the shaking stopped.

"It's just getting worse." He spoke pessimistically.

"Did you think it was gonna get better?" Moltor questioned sarcastically. "We're running out of time."

Beast master sighed as the two orange globe monsters snuggled against him and whined like puppy dogs.

"I know, my precious. I want things to back to the way they were too." He said as he pat and comfort them.

Book keeper looked down as he fidgeted with loose fabric on the rug; distracting himself from thinking about the curse.

"I miss being able to walk, run and dance." Whiparella reminisced.

"Don't worry, Whiparella. We'll have our days in the sun again." Lavaria reassured.

"How's your plan going to work?" Burnzie asked.

"After what happened up there, Jestro won't want anything to do with the knight."

Lavaria stood up from her seat on the floor.

"We don't know that yet. But if we're lucky, it won't come to that." She responded before turning to Book keeper. "Book keeper, would you help me make some tea?"

Book keeper quickly stood up from the rug and went into the kitchen with Lavaria to make some tea.

* * *

 **AN: I think I made myself sad after writing this chapter.**


	8. Chapter 8

_**The West Wing**_

* * *

Clay grunted as he tightened the last knot of his makeshift escape ladder. He proceeded to tie the end of it to the bed post so he could escape later. Clay had a plan set up in his mind. When it would become late, he would sneak out of his room and look for the other prisoner. Then he would bring them back to his room and help them escape through the window. As he finished tying the rope to the bed post, a knock came from the other side of the door.

"I said I'm not hungry!" He called out; thinking Jestro was back.

"Relax; it's just Lavaria." Lavaria called out from outside.

Clay was somewhat relieved that it was Lavaria that was outside, but Clay hid the escape rope on the side of the bed so she would not see it.

"Come in." Clay replied.

The door opened and Lavaria came in. Book keeper came in holding a tray with teacups and a teapot.

"Just thought I'd come up to see how you're doing after all that." She said as she picked up a teacup.

"I'm fine, thank you." Clay tried to sound like he was not doing anything.

Lavaria raised an eyebrow at the knight suspiciously, but she just brushed it off.

"Well, it's a long way back to town." She spoke casually. "At least have some tea before you go."

Clay blinked and looked towards the bed. He felt his cheeks turning red; thinking he should've known better.

"Don't worry, I won't stop you." Lavaria reassured as book keeper poured her some tea.

Clay looked at the monster pouring the tea. Book keeper looked up at Clay and smiled at him; like he was asking if he wanted some. Clay took a cup and inspected it.

"It's caramel; not poison." Lavaria reassured the knight.

Clay only took a sip as he sat down on the end of the bed. Lavaria thought of something to say.

"That was a brave thing you did for your friends." She spoke softly.

Book keeper nodded in agreement. Clay kept his eyes on the ground.

"I hope they're okay. Especially Merlok. He looked so frail when I saw him here. And he said something about someone here needing my help." Clay said as he remembered the look on the wizards face.

"I'm sure they're fine." Lavaria said before drinking her tea.

Clay was about to reply as his stomach growled loudly. The knight put his hand on his mid-section; only just realising how hungry he really was. Lavaria finished drinking her tea and put her cup back on the tray.

"Dinner's still out if you're hungry." She said before turning to the door.

"But he said 'if he doesn't eat with me, he doesn't eat at all'." Clay recalled as he repeated what Jestro shouted earlier.

"Jestro says a lot of things, but he never really means it."

Book keeper followed Lavaria as she was about to leave. Clay thought about it and stood up off the bed.

"Maybe a little bit of food won't hurt."

Lavaria and book keeper smiled as the knight followed them out of his room and down stairs. As they made their way down stairs, Lavaria advised Clay that the other monsters would not hurt him. But he should be careful because they are unpredictable. When they got to the living room, everyone was either seating on the couch or on the floor. Book keeper made a coughing sound; getting everyone's attention. Magmar raised his brow and crossed his arms.

"Well, look who decided to come down." He spoke rather blankly.

Clay stood still as the monsters stared at him; not sure if they were curious or judging him.

"Just introduce yourself." Lavaria whispered to Clay.

Clay hesitated, but he stepped forward and cleared his throat.

"Um, hello. I'm Clay." He introduced himself rather shyly.

"Hehe, he's named after mud." Moltor quietly laughed.

Flama glared at his brother and smacked him in the back of his head. Lavaria stepped in before speaking.

"Since Clay will be staying with us, we must make him feel welcome."

Book keeper came up to Clay; taking his hand and shaking it. He gave Clay a toothy smile. Clay returned a smile as he let go.

"This is Book keeper." Lavaria introduced the monster.

Flama and Moltor stood up and came over.

"I'm Flama and this is my brother, Moltor." The flame creature introduced himself and his sibling.

"It's nice to meet you both, Ms." Clay greeted back.

Flama went wide eyed before getting into Clays face. Clay took a step back as Flama looked at him with an angry grimace and pointed at him.

"I am not a lady!" He growled before Moltor pulled him back.

"Don't worry; everyone makes this mistake when they meet him." Moltor reassured Clay as Flama calmed down.

Lavaria introduced the rest of the group.

"And the two big guys in the corner are Burnzie and sparkks." She spoke as they said hi.

Beast master waved in his seat on the floor with his two globe monsters.

"I am Beast master! And these are my babies; Muffin and Poopsie." He said as he hugged the tiny monsters.

"They're not really his babies; they're just his pets." Whiparella clarified as she stood up.

The snake woman slithered towards Clay as Magmar stood up and made his way over.

"You've already met Whiparella and Magmar." Lavaria continued to speak. "Now if there's anything you need, don't be afraid to ask."

Clay put his hand over his growling stomach.

"Well, I am a little hungry." The knight shrugged; thinking he sounded like Axl.

"I'm afraid we can't do that." Magmar denied the subtle request.

"Just what do you mean?" Whiparella crossed her arms.

"You heard what Jestro said; he's not allowed to have any food!"

"Oh, pesh posh; we're not going to let the boy go hungry."

Magmar hunched over as he grumbled.

"Fine. He can have a glass of water and a four slices of bread." He said in a grouchy tone.

"No, he'll have what the rest of us are having." Lavaria casually disagreed.

All the male monsters apart from Magmar leaned in with smiles on their faces.

"So dinner's back on?" Burnzie asked; rubbing his rumbling stomach.

Lavaria nodded. The monsters cheered and made their way back to the dining room. Whiparella led Clay in while Magmar rubbed his aching head. As the monsters sat at the table and ate dinner together, Clay watched and observed as he ate the food he put on his plate. The monsters talked to each other as they ate; mostly about stuff that happened in the castle yesterday and a few days before and had some friendly banter. At one point, Beast master asked for a roll and Book keeper threw one to him. Clay noticed something about them. They acted like a family. Clay even began to laugh along when Sparkks made a joke about the lava monster that crashed his helicopter. When dinner was done, everyone but Clay and Whiparella went off to do their own thing in the living room. The knight and the snake woman hung around the entrance room.

"So did you like dinner?" Whiparella asked of the knight.

"It was quite tasty and filling." Clay commented with a smile. "My compliments to the chef."

"Flama will be happy to hear it." Whiparella smiled at Clay.

Clay returned the smile. But it slowly faded when he remembered what he was doing a while ago before dinner. Whiparella took notice of Clays spaced out expression.

"Something the matter?" She asked.

Clay looked up at the snake woman.

"Don't get mad when I say this; but I was kind of relieved when your master didn't come down for dinner when I did." He said; trying not to sound rude.

"It's understandable." Whiparella replied. "He's a bit much to deal with sometimes, but he's really not that bad."

Clay raised an eyebrow.

"How so?"

"Well, he may appear dangerous and terrifying on the outside. But on the inside there's a big softie who just wants to be in good company." Whiparella explained.

Clay still had his eyebrow raised; thinking it hard to believe. His mind took him to a different subject.

"May I ask a question?" The knight asked.

"Go ahead."

Clay took a short breath before asking his question.

"Is there anyone else here besides me?"

Whiparella raised an eyebrow at the knight.

"What do you mean?"

"I just want to know if there are other prisoners here besides me."

Whiparella shook her head.

"Only you." She answered. "And we no longer consider you a prisoner; we now think of you as our guest."

Clay felt a bit flattered that Whiparella and the other monsters thought of him that way. But he knew Jestro did not think the same. He looked up at the staircase; facing the direction of the west wing. Whiparella said there were no other prisoners, but it did not dampen his curiosity.

"Magmar said something about the west wing." Clay wandered out loud.

Whiparella gave Clay a pat on the back and got his attention.

"Don't worry about that. It's just storage space like we said before." Whiparella advised. "Well, I'm going to play chess with the boys. You're welcome to join us, if you like."

"No thank you. I think I might go to my room and do some exercises before I go to bed." Clay said before making his way up the stairs.

Whiparella gave the boy a trustful smile before going to the living room. Clay continued going up the stairs. But when Whiparella was out of sight, he made sure no one was watching and went into the west wing hallway. Clay felt a chill go up his spine as he slowly made his way through. He quickly noticed how different it was to the east wing. It was slightly dirtier, darker and bits of broken stone gargoyle statues were scattered in places. Clay went by a broken mirror as he went further down the hallway. The knight reached a door at the end of it. Clay felt his insides going cold as he stared at the devil shaped handles of the door. But he made it this far into the hallway; if he turned back now, he might not get another chance. Clay gently grabbed one of the handles and gently pushed the door open. He looked into the dark room; lit only by melting candles. Clay carefully entered as he looked around; noticing how the unkept mess and darkness made a great contrast to the light and tidiness of his room. The knight walked through the room as he looked at the broken bits of furniture and ruined decorations on the walls. Clay stopped when he noticed something among the decorations that was still intact.

A framed photo was hanging on the wall. Clay took a closer look at it to see that it was a group picture. It had a group of thirteen people and one dog; all diverse in appearance. But everyone in the picture was frowning. Two of the faces on the picture were scratched and torn out; one cloaked figure in the middle and another standing to the right of them. Aside of the scratched out figures, Clay thought the others looked somewhat familiar but he was not sure how. Clay looked at one of the figures in the middle; standing to the left of the cloaked scratched out figure. Even though the photo was old and discoloured, Clay could tell that the figure he was looking at wore very colourful clothing; wearing a hood that resembled that of a jester. Clay took a closer look at the figure; thinking he has seen him somewhere before.

A faint glow on the balcony caught Clays' attention. He turned away from the photo to see a table on the balcony. The Knights slowly walked closer to the table; seeing the items on top. A mirror was lying next to what got Clays attention. Clay watched in awe as a rose glowed under a gloss dome. The knight kept looking at it as if he was being hypnotised. Clay held his hand out as he got closer. But he froze; eyes widening and insides going cold. He quickly turned around and gasped.

Jestro was standing right there; staring at Clay in the eye. Clay took a step back; bumping into the table. Jestro went wide eyed; quickly going behind the table and put his hands on it stopping it from moving. He looked over the rose; worry and fear in his eyes. Clay realised he made a mistake when Jestro looked at him; worry and fear turning into anger.

"What're you doing in here?" Jestro glared at Clay; coming towards him.

Clay stepped back as he reached over his shoulder. The knight began to panic when he realised that he left his sword and shield in the bedroom.

"I, I-" Clay tried to explain himself as Jestro came closer.

"Do you have any idea what you almost did!?" Jestro began to yell.

"I, I'm sorry."

"YOU COULD'VE DOOMED US ALL!"

Jestro lifted his hand from under his cloak and took a swap at Clay with sharp nails. Clay only just avoided them, but he fell backwards onto the floor. The knight tried to back away; fearing for his life.

"Please, stop!" He pleaded and begged.

"GET OUT OF HERE!"

Jestro continued to yell; making Clay get up and run for the door as he shouted "get out" with an animalistic roar. When Clay was gone, Jestro stopped and caught his breath. He looked at his hand and stared at his sharp black painted nails. He stopped being angry and went wide eyed when he realised what he just did. Jestro ran his hands through his hair and got down on his knees as he started to panic.

"What have I done?" He whispered; realising he scared away his only chance.

* * *

 **AN: Well that escalated quickly...**


	9. Chapter 9

_**Promise or No Promise**_

* * *

Whiparella smiled as she knocked over Magmars' black queen piece with her white knight piece.

"Checkmate; again." She spoke proudly.

Magmar looked in disbelief as the other monsters laughed.

"You cheated again!" He said with an annoyed pout.

While the monsters laughed, Beast master looked up when he heard the sound of running footsteps. He looked into the entrance room to see Clay running to the iron doors; grabbing the handle on the left door and using all his strength to pull.

"What are you doing?" Beast master questioned; not liking where this was going.

Clay grunted and struggled as he pulled the door in.

"Promise or no promise, I can't stay here!" The knight said in fear.

Beast master gasped and turned to the other monsters.

"The knight is trying to leave!" He yelled out.

"What!?" The others shouted.

"Stop him!" Magmar stood up.

Clay managed to open the door enough so he could squeeze through. The knight quickly but carefully tried to squeeze through the gap as the monsters ran towards him. Whiparella snapped her whips at him; but he made it through the gap and she missed him. Clay caught his breath when Burnzie and Sparkks tried to reach through the gap. The knight made a run for it across the bridge when the two large monsters started pulling the door open. Clay made it across; stopping at the gates when he saw that his vehicle was damaged and covered in a thin layer of snow.

"Come back!" Burnzie and Sparkks called out; opening the door wide enough for themselves.

Clay quickly looked for a way out as the two monsters started running across the bridge. Seeing it as the only option, Clay jumped onto the gate and started climbing. Clay only reached the top when Burnzie and Sparkks skidded into the gate. The knight quickly jumped to the other side; landing on the snow covered ground and started running. Burnzie and Sparkks watched in horror as Clay ran into the woods; knowing all too well what was waiting for him in there.

Clay did not look back as he ran through the forest; struggling with each step because of the snow. Cold winds blew at his face and armour, but he kept going; hoping he was going the right way. Clay heard howling echo around him as he ran. He fell face first into the snow; tripping over a large stick hidden under the thick layer. Clay quickly sat up to see a dozen pairs of yellow eyes staring at him through the trees. The Knight picked up the stick that tripped him for defence; mentally scalding himself for leaving his equipment back at that god forsaken castle.

The owners of the eyes emerged from the trees. Clays heart beat faster as a pack of wolves growled and gathered around Clay. The knight quickly reacted as one of them jumped and bared its fangs. Clay quickly hit the attacking animal with his makeshift weapon; sending it back into the pack. When he took another swing, one of the wolves took a bite out of the stick; pulling it out of Clays hands and tossing it aside. Clays heart rate increased as he backed into a tree; breathing heavy and visible breathes as the biggest of the wolves was about to charge and attack him.

As Clay felt his heart skip a beat, a fast blur jumped out and tackled the wolf to the ground. Clay watched as the wolves moved their attention to the attacker. The newcomer showed his face as he threw the wolf to the side. It was Jestro. Clay froze as the one who tried to attack him over a rose ran to him and stood in front of him.

"Stay behind me." Jestro instructed as the wolves prepared to attack.

Clay watched in a mix of amazement and fear as the wolves began to attack Jestro. But he fought back and stood against the predators. Clay watched the whole thing, but he was not sure what was happening. Everything was happening too fast for him to see clearly, but he heard snarls, growls and roars as they continued to fight. Clay only knew the fight was over when the animals began to retreat. Jestro threw the pack leader across the ground two meters away from himself and Clay. The wolf got back up and stared at the creature defending the unarmed knight. Jestro stared back before breathing in and letting out a deafening roar; making Clay cover his ears. The wolf knew it was defeated and retreated just as the others did.

Jestro turned to the knight; breathing heavy breaths as he held his side. Clay looked at the damaged creature; seeing small amounts of scratches and bite marks on his arms and body and blood slowly dripping from his side. Jestro closed his eyes as he fainted and fell on the snow covered ground. Clay stared at the unconscious Jestro; realising how much damage he took from the wolves. He quickly ran over and kneeled down next to him. Clay looked towards the way he was running before the wolves came; thinking he could go while he still could. But he could not leave Jestro to die in the snow. Not after he saved his life. Clay gently took Jestro into his arms and lifted him as he stood up off the ground; slowly and carefully so he would not wake him. Clay began making his way back to the castle; knowing that he now owed Jestro a great debt.

* * *

On the other side of the forest, Merlok and the Knights were making their way back to the crossroad; determined to rescue Clay from the castle. The king and Queen(wearing her armour and carrying her best mace) accompanied them with a large group of squirebots. Everyone heard a great howl in the distance, but the king reacted in fright of the sound.

"Sweetheart; did you hear that? Those are wolves." His majesty spoke nervously.

"Eggred, calm down." Queen Halbert reassured her husband by holding his hand; carrying her mace in her other hand.

"The wolves aren't the ones we need to worry about, your majesty." Merlok advised.

The Knights stayed silent as they prepared their weapons; hoping they would not need them. Macy looked out the window. It was dark out now, but she knew the trees were not covered in snow. Not yet. The Knights grabbed their seats as the carriage suddenly stopped just like last time. Kyle the squirebot looked into the carriage with a nervous look on his face.

"Um... Your highness, we have a problem." He said shyly.

"Kyle, what's wrong?" Macy asked.

"Are we there already?" Aaron questioned.

"You should see it for yourself." The squirebot pointed outside.

"Everyone got out of the carriage to see what Kyle and the rest of the squirebots were looking at. Merlok and the Knights looked with shocked eyes when they saw that the path changed. The tree that had fallen over was back in its place and the path to Festaville was open. But the path to the castle was gone. The king and queen and the squirebots looked on in confusion.

"This is it, this is the tree." Lance tried to explain.

"But what happened? It was blocking the other path before." Axl questioned.

The king and Queen came to see what was happening.

"Didn't you say there was another path?" His majesty questioned; becoming confused.

"There was! The tree fell and blocked the right path so we had to take the other one!" Macy tried to explain.

Merlok put a hand on the princess/Knights' shoulder; getting her to calm down.

"Don't panic, Macy." The wizard tried to reassure her. "Clearly the dark magic surrounding the castle is preventing us from going back."

"You think that crazy electric guy wants to keep us out?" Aaron theorised.

"Let's just chop down the tree!" Axl suggested; holding up his axe and charging.

"Axl, wait!" Merlok shouted

Axl ran and slammed his battle axe into the tree. But instead of making a cut or even a dent, Axl was sent flying backwards in the side of the carriage in a cartoonish fashion; nearly making it fall to the side. Everyone looked at the sight in gobsmacked fear.

"What could of sorcery is this!?" The queen questioned; the king gently holding her back.

Axl slowly got back up and rubbed his head with a low groan. Merlok looked at the obstacle blocking their path; knowing they were dealing with very powerful magic. The wizard kept thinking he had seen it before, but he could not remember how. He realised that it was going to take a lot to rescue Clay.

"I'm afraid we have to go back home." Merlok sadly proclaimed.

"What!?" Aaron, Axl and Lance said in unison.

"What about Clay!?" Macy questioned.

"We will save him. But I need to go through my studies and find something that can combat this magic." Merlok explained.

Macy wanted to argue, but her mother and father had to hold her back to calm her.

"He's right, Macy." Queen Halbert tried to comfort her daughter.

"We will save Clay, but we can't do it now." King Halbert hugged her.

Macy hugged backed, but she felt terrible. As the king and Queen ordered everyone to turn back, the Knights gathered and followed their comrade; trying to reassure her that Clay will be rescued soon.

"Don't worry, Macy." Axl tried to reassure his friend.

"I'm just worried, guys. What if Clay is being tortured in there?" Macy could not help but think out loud.

"Try not to worry; Clay's one of the toughest people I know." Aaron said optimistically. "He has to be if he puts up with Lance."

"Hey; I'm not the one keeping him locked up in a monster infested castle!" Lance snapped back at Aaron for his comment.

Macy smiled a little; knowing Aaron was only trying to cheer her up. But she could not bring herself to imagine what Clay was going through right now.


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:**

This=normal text

 **This=Dream/nightmare/flashback text**

* * *

 _ **A Change in Me**_

* * *

Lavaria gave Clay a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth so he could tend to Jestro and his wounds.

"You don't have to do this if you don't want to. I think he would prefer it if me or Whiparella did it." Lavaria advised.

"Thank you; but I think I can handle it." The knight insisted.

As Clay went inside the room, the monsters watched him from the doorway.

"He's gonna get creamed." Flama whispered to his brother.

"Agreed." Moltor whispered back.

Jestro sat up in his bed. Lavaria already wrapped the wound in his side with bandages; stopping the blending and soaking up a small amount of the blood. Clay put the bowl down next to the bed and gently soaked the cloth in the water; squeezing out the excess water when he took it out. The knight stood up to see Jestro scratching the bites on his arm.

"Don't pick at it!" Clay raised his voice at him.

Jestro just looked at Clay and growled at him. But Clay was having none of it. The knight climbed onto the side of the bed so he reach and treat Jestros' wounds. Jestro saw what he was doing and moved away from him.

"Hold still." Clay instructed.

"Stay away from me!" Jestro warned.

"Your wounds need to be treated!"

Jestro continued to make a fuss as Clay tried to treat him. The monsters watched the struggle from the doorway. Clay finally got the damp cloth on Jestros' wounded arm, but the wounded creature reacted to the stinging feeling by hissing and pushing the knight away with his other arm; almost knocking him off the bed. Clay got his balance back and gave Jestro a pissed off glare.

"That hurts!" Jestro snapped at Clay; holding his arm protectively.

"If you hold still it wouldn't hurt as much!" Clay snapped back.

The monsters watched nervously as the two started blaming each other.

"If you hadn't ran away, this would never have happened!" Jestro blamed Clay for his wounds.

"If you didn't try to attack me, then I wouldn't have ran away!" Clay blamed Jestro for scaring him.

Jestro gave Clay an annoyed and angry glare before coming up with another blame.

"Well, you shouldn't have gone into the west wing!" He crossed his arms; thinking he won.

Clay raised a brow at Jestro before picking up the damp cloth.

"Well you need to learn to control your temper." Clay spoke in a calm but aggressive tone.

Jestro stared at the knight with wide eyes; taking that final remark as a personal insult. Jestro just laid down on his non bandaged side; facing away from Clay. Clay looked at some scars on Jestros back. Some of them were fresh from the fight with the wolves. But a few of them were old and faded; from something else. Clay dismissed the observation and got off the bed; picking up the bowl of water.

"Try to get some rest. I'll check on you in the morning." Clay reminded before leaving the room.

The lava monsters waited outside the room; looking a bit anxious as they waited for Clay to answer.

"So how is he?" Whiparella questioned in worry and concern; Lavaria trying to comfort her.

"He didn't really want me to treat his wounds. But he should recover if he gets enough rest." Clay explained.

The monsters gave out a sigh of relief in unison; glad their master was fine. Clay shook his head before speaking again.

"Why do you put up with him?" The knight asked.

The monsters looked at each other in confusion. Beast master stepped forward.

"He's family." He answered shyly.

"But he yells at you constantly. From what I've seen, you're all terrified of him."

Burnzie and Sparkks stepped to have a say in the matter.

"He wasn't always like that." Burnzie defended his master.

"He was a good kid before the curse." Sparkks added.

"Don't tell him that!" Moltor said to the big one eyed monster.

It was too late to take it back. Clay gave the monsters a weird look before he asked another question.

"Curse?" He repeated in question.

The monsters all looked at each other and nodded; knowing they could not keep their secret anymore.

Lavaria, Whiparella and Magmar began to explain.

"We weren't always monsters." Lavaria started.

"We were all human once." Whiparella added.

"But we were put under a powerful curse by our master." Magmar finished.

Clay looked back into the room; Jestro now asleep.

"Jestro put a curse on you?" Clay assumed; almost infuriated.

"No! Our boy never cursed anyone in his life!" Whiparella snapped at the knight.

"Whippy; it's okay." Lavaria grabbed the snake woman and calmed her down.

"Our original master is the one who cursed us." Magmar corrected; realising that he should have been more specific. "Jestro was the first one to suffer the effects."

Clay blinked at the monster; having trouble understanding.

"Then, who was your original master?" Clay asked; being too curious for his own good.

"We don't like to talk about him." Moltor crossed his arms and turned the other way.

"He was and still is a jerk!" Flama added.

Magmar told the two brothers to calm down before turning back to Clay.

"It happened a few years ago; back when Jestro was only a child. We used to work for this necromancer that wanted to take over the kingdom. He employed us throughout the years."

"But one day, I and Lavaria went into a town for supplies. We found a basket with a baby inside it." Whiparella added.

Clay assumed that the baby they were taking about was Jestro.

"We didn't want to take him to some bug infested orphanage. So we took him in and raised him ourselves." Lavaria explained.

"He was a hyperactive little weirdo." Flama commented.

"But we love him." Moltor added.

Magmar continued to explain.

"But our master wanted to use him for his personal gain. As Jestro got older, our master took him and tried to teach him the dark arts and turn him into something that he was not; punishing him when he messed up."

"He messed up a lot." Sparkks summed up; making Burnzie shush him.

"Our master wanted to make Jestro like himself so he could take over his body when he took over the kingdom."

Clays' eyes widened when Magmar said that.

"Take over his body!? Why?!" The knight questioned.

"Our boss was pretty old. He wanted be a teenager again; I think." Beast master answered.

Lavaria explained the rest of the story.

"On the night when our master was about to put his plan into action, Jestro took his staff and split it in two."

"And boy, he was furious." Beast master remembered the moment.

"Jestro only did it because he met someone in the kingdom that he didn't want to get hurt." Whiparella explained. "But our master didn't care."

"So he punished Jestro and everyone he cared about." Lavaria summed up.

"Including us." Magmar finished.

Clay looked at the cursed monsters as he thought about what he just heard. This castle and its inhabitants were under a curse. All because Jestro was trying to do the right thing. Lavaria turned to her comrades.

"We should let him rest." She told them.

Everyone nodded in agreement before leaving the west wing and going to bed. Clay went back to his room in the east wing so he could sleep after having a long, tiresome day. But Clay had trouble getting to sleep after knowing what was happening in this castle. Clay remembered what Merlok told him. Someone in this castle needed his help. Clay knew there were no other prisoners here besides him. So maybe. Clay thought that maybe Jestro and his family of monsters were the ones that needed his help. Clay thought about it as he fell into a dreamless sleep. Unlike someone else in the opposite wing.

* * *

 **"YOU UNGRATEFUL LITTLE BRAT!"**

 **Jestro fell to the hard ground as his master towered over him. He looked up at the hooded figure as he pointed to the broken staff on the floor.**

 **"You've ruined everything." The hooded figure snarled as he came closer to his apprentice.**

 **Several humans being held back by monsters made of stone watched as Jestro backed away from his master. He looked up with tears pouring down from eyes in fear.**

 **"I, I couldn't let you." Jestro shuddered and quivered. "I couldn't let you hurt him."**

 **The hood figure stared at Jestro with his glowing eyes.**

 **"You ruined the plan for someone?" He questioned. "Who!?**

 **Jestro did not respond.**

 **"WHO!?" The hooded figure raised his voice.**

 **Jestro stayed silent as more fear induced tears fell from his eyes. His master looked down at his apprentice and shook his head.**

 **"After all these years." The hooded figure started circling around Jestro. "After all the years I spent training you so you could take my place when I'm gone. I tried to help you reach your full potential, but you just mess up the whole plan. Why? Because you have morals? I don't think that's it."**

 **The hooded figure grabbed Jestro by his collar and lifted him off the ground. The humans tried to stop him, but the stone monsters held them back. Jestro watched in fear as his master stared at him with his glowing yellow and red eyes.**

 **"Because you're weak. You've always been weak. You have no place in my army." He spoke harshly to the fearful jester.**

 **Jestro held his breath as the bracelet on his masters' wrist began to glow in an eerie purple hue.**

 **"A curse upon you and everyone you love." The necromancer spoke as he dropped Jestro to the floor.**

 **Jestro grabbed his throat as he caught his breath. His master continued to speak.**

 **"Unless you find someone who will love you as you are... you shall forever remain a beast!" The necromancer concluded with a shout.**

 **Jestro looked up as his master began to laugh. Jestro put his hands on his chest when he felt a zapping sensation. He let out a painful cry as it turned into electrocution. The jester watched in horror as his skin began to change colour from his hands. He tried to scratch the blue tinge away, but it just kept spreading like a rash. The necromancer and the stone monsters laughed as Jestro began to scream; his vision going white and blank.**

* * *

Jestro awoke with wide fearful eyes as he gasped for air. The cursed jester got his breathing under control as he made sure he was awake. Jestro looked out the balcony; sun shining and glittering off the glass dome protecting the rose. He ran his hands through his hair as his breathing finally slowed down to a calmer level.

"Are you alright?"

Jestro looked to the side of his bed to see Clay standing there. Jestro stared at the knight; noticing that he was wearing a more casual set of clothes instead of his armour.

"You're, still here?" Jestro asked; sounding rather surprised.

"I'm holding up my end of the bargain." Clay answered. "I wanted to check on you. Are you feeling better from last night?"

Jestro sat up and looked at himself. He looked at the bandaging on his side and the bites on his arms. He remembered how painful they were last night, but they did not hurt as much now.

"I feel a little better; yes." Jestro answered.

"Good. Despite how hard it was to treat you, I think you're going to make a full recovery." Clay diagnosed. "You must have one heck of an immune system."

Jestro looked up at the knight as he was about to turn and leave the room. Jestro spoke before that could happen.

"You had your chance to go home. Why didn't you take it?" He asked, curious about the answer.

Clay turned back to look at Jestro as he thought of his answer.

"I'm not afraid to admit it. You saved my life last night; and you got injured because of it. So I'm going to hold my end of the bargain and stay until you say otherwise." The Knight explained; repeating what Jestro said previously.

As Clay finished his explanation, a petal fell from the rose; floating to the surface of the table. When it landed, the castle began to shake like it did last night. Clay kept his balance while Jestro stayed still. When the shaking stopped, Clay looked towards the table; having questions in his mind about the rose. But he ignored them as he looked back at Jestro.

"Try to get some rest." He said to the recovering jester.

Jestro watched as Clay left the room. On his way out, Clay glanced at the photo on wall. He made his way to the living room; where the monsters were having a conversation amongst themselves. Everyone took notice of Clay when he walked into the room.

"So, how is he?" Magmar stood up as he asked.

"He's a lot better than he was last night. He should recover pretty soon." Clay explained.

Upon hearing the good news, the monsters smiled and talked amongst themselves. But Clay had questions.

"What's with that rose in Jestros' room?"

Everyone looked at the knight as he asked the question. Whiparella adjusted her tail as she answered.

"We're not really sure." She tried to explain. "It just appeared sometime after we were cursed."

"But every time a petal falls off, the castle shakes and decays." Lavaria added. "So we think it might serve as a time limit."

"What happens when the last petal falls?" Clay asked.

"Well I don't want to assume the worst." Magmar answered back. "But we think Jestro will stay the way he is now, forever. And we will stay this way forever."

Clay watched as the cursed group looked at each other with sadness. The knight clutched his fist before speaking again.

"I want to help you. There has to be some way to break the curse." The knight reasoned with the monsters.

Moltor opened his mouth to speak.

"Well actually-"

Flama quickly put his hand over his brothers' mouth; making him quiet.

"Don't worry about us, Clay." Lavaria tried to reassure the knight. "We've made our beds. Now we have to lay in them."

With all that said, Clay thought of what to do with himself. But he was not sure. He just decided to go and wonder around the castle; since he was going to be there for a while.

* * *

 **AN: Poor Jestro needs a hug and some therapy.**


	11. Chapter 11

_**Something There**_

* * *

Later that day, Jestro decided he was feeling better and got out of bed. He grabbed a pair of pyjamas laying on the floor; not really feeling like properly getting dressed. The cursed jester made his way out of his room; squinting as the sunlight shined in his eyes. Jestro made his way downstairs as he heard the voices of his family in the dining room. He followed the sounds of talking and chatting. He heard Lavaria talking about Clay.

"He could be the one!" She spoke in a hopeful tone. "He could be the one who will break the curse!"

"So he falls in love with him, then poof! The curse is broken! We'll be human again by midnight!" Beast Master replied; his pets barking joyfully.

"Beast master; it's not going to be easy." Whiparella disagreed. "Something like this is going to take time."

Jestro began to walk into the room as the monsters conversed.

"Time is something we don't have." Magmar reminded. "If you haven't already noticed, another rose petal fell this morning; just like last night-"

Magmar saw Jestro in the doorway. Everyone looked towards the doorway to see their master. Jestro looked at them briefly before taking a seat at the table. Everyone quietly went back to eating their breakfast. Jestro looked at what was being served this morning. Today it was porridge. He rarely came down for breakfast. Or lunch. Or dinner. But a little voice in his head said he should this time. He looked at Flama; who was sitting on the left side of the table next to Moltor and Book Keeper.

"Did you make the porridge, Flama?" The jester asked; making the flame creature freeze.

Flama took his spoon out of his mouth.

"...Yes." He answered; thinking maybe he should have made something else.

Jestro just shrugged and grabbed a bowl of porridge for himself. Lavaria was sitting next to him and leaned over; watching as he poured a large amount of honey into his porridge.

"Feeling better, Jestro?" She asked.

"A little." Jestro answered before he started eating.

Jestro took a mouthful of porridge as he looked at the individuals sitting at the table. Just about everyone was here. Except for one.

"So, where's the knight?" He asked after swallowing his food.

"He already had his breakfast; he's in the courtyard." Magmar answered back.

"He's outside?" The jester asked.

"Don't worry; he's not escaping again." Whiparella reassured.

"He's just doing some knight training or something." Moltor spoke before taking a mouthful of his breakfast.

Jestro looked out the doorway; mentally reminding himself to do something after he finished his porridge. When he finished his breakfast, he excused himself from the table and left the room. When he was gone, beast master started talking.

"He never comes down for food." He reminded.

"He did just now." Burnzie pointed out.

Lavaria paid no mind as everyone started discussing the occurrence. She just smiled to herself as she thought that maybe, just maybe that Clay was starting to make a good influence on Jestro.

Jestro made his way to the courtyard at the back of the castle; picking a jacket on a coatrack on his way. He looked out the doorway to see Clay at a distance. The knight was wearing a jacket for the snow outside. He was holding his sword in his hand; practicing some sword play. As Jestro walked out, he could hear Clay saying something to himself.

"Daniel raised his shield against the ogres' attack; using all his strength to push it back."

Clay sounded like he was reading out of a book, but he did not have a book with him. He was just remembering the words in his head. Clay continued to recite the words; not noticing Jestro behind him.

"With a swift push, he pushed the ogre away; making it lose balance-"

"And he plunged his mighty sword into the monsters chest; turning it to cold grey stone."

Clay froze and turned to look behind him; putting his sword away when he saw Jestro standing there. The cursed jester pushed a bit of his hair out of his face as the knight began to speak.

"You've read Knights of the Red Rose?" Clay asked; wandering how Jestro knew the next part of the passage.

"I didn't really have an education. I was home schooled. But I liked reading when I learned how." The cursed jester explained.

Clay just nodded.

"I've read all of the books in the series." He tried to start a conversation with the jester. "But the first one is my favourite."

"I always liked the third one the best." Jestro tried to smile as he talked.

Clay raised his eyebrow.

"Really? I liked it too, but it was a little sad with the guardian dragon." The knight spoke of his thoughts.

Jestro stopped smiling as he thought about it.

"It was, I guess." He shrugged. "I did feel a little sad after I read it. I had to read something happier to get my mind off it."

Clay looked at Jestro with interest. Clay had an interest in reading stories. He wandered if the cursed jester enjoyed it as much as he did.

"What else have you read?" The knight asked curiously.

Jestro looked at Clay rather shyly.

"I can show you if you like." He pointed back to the castle.

Clay hesitated to follow Jestro. But he did not want to be rube. They went back inside the castle and Jestro lead Clay to a large door way in the living room. Clay watched as Jestro pushed the door and walked in.

"Come on in." He said, trying to sound welcoming.

Clay walked through the door. He squinted at the darkness of the room; noticing that Jestros' skin faintly glowed in it.

"It's a bit dark." The knight pointed out.

"Just hang on a moment." Jestro told him.

Clay could see Jestro running to the other side of the room. Clay covered his eyes when light suddenly hit him. The knight slowly opened them to adjust to the now lit room. When they were back in focus Clay saw that Jestro opened the curtains. But he widened his eyes in awe because of something else. The whole room was a giant library. Every wall was a massive shelve full of books going up to the second floor and even to the ceiling. Clay slowly spun around to get a good look at the library; shelves, books, desks and all. A smile appeared on the Knights face.

"You've, read all these books?" Clay asked; sounding amazed by the thought.

Jestro shrugged in response.

"Most of them. Except for the one about monsters. It makes me uncomfortable." He explained.

Clay continued to look around; astounded by the sheer size of the library.

"It's twice as big as Merloks' study!" The knight said as he looked up at the high ceiling.

Jestro was unsure if that was a good thing.

"But... Do you like it?" He asked; playing with his hair as Clay turned to face him.

Clay did not want to sound too happy. But he could not help himself.

"It's amazing." The knight smiled in joy.

The blue shade of Jestros' cheeks slightly darkened as he stared at the Knights' smile.

"Well, you're welcome here anytime you like." He said as he gained his focus. "Try not to read ten books at a time."

Clay raised an eyebrow as Jestro was about to leave the room.

"Was that supposed to be a joke?" Clay asked with a slight chuckle; making Jestro stop and turn back. "Are you making jokes now?"

Jestro looked away from the knight; the darkened hue in his cheeks still there.

"Maybe." The cursed jester uttered before leaving the library.

When Jestro was gone, Clay continued to look around the library. The knight could not help himself as he jumped and laughed happily.

Jestro took a relived exhale as he held his chest. He did not think that was going to go as well as it did. Magmar and Beast Master came around the corner.

"Charming the prisoner, are you?" Magmar raised a brow.

"The guest; you mean." BM corrected.

Jestro nodded.

"Yeah; I showed him the library." He told.

"I suppose that's one way to do it. It certainly beats flowers, chocolates and promises you don't intend to keep." Magmar rambled.

"How long do you think do you think it'll be before he's head over heels for you?" Beast master asked excitedly.

Jestro stopped when BM asked the question. He looked down to the floor.

"I don't know." The cursed jester answered. "If there's a chance, I don't want to force it."

Later that day, Clay read at least ten books(not all at once) and decided to take a break by going back outside. He saw Jestro sitting outside; watching some birds in the snow. Clay quietly went over to him to see what he was doing and sat next to him.

"What're you doing?" He asked curiously.

"Watching the birdies. I can't get too close without them flying away." Jestro explained.

Clay looked at the birds as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out some bread left over from breakfast.

"I can show you how to get them to come to you." The knight offered.

Jestro tilted his head to the side; intrigued by the offer. Clay pulled a few pieces of bread and slowly crawled towards the birds. Clay slowly extended his hand with the pieces of bread and stood still. Two of the birds noticed Clay and went towards him. He stood still as the birds ate the bread out of his hand. Jestro blinked at the sight before he came running over. The birds saw the jester and flew away.

"Dang it." Jestro quietly scolded himself.

Clay gently took Jestros hand helped him to the ground.

"You gotta do it like this." The knight explained; doing what he did before.

Jestro paid close attention as he copied Clay. Three birds came up to Clay and started taking bread out of his hand. Clay looked at Jestro as a small bird came to him. The jester smiled like a child that learned how to tie their shoe laces. Clay smiled a little as well, but it turned into mild concern when more birds begun to land and sit on Jestro one by one. Jestro stayed still like a statue. The cursed jester did not notice Clay getting up and walking behind a tree. Jestro seemed to be enjoying the attention from the feathered flying animals, but he flinched and closed his eyes when they all flew away at once. Jestro smiled again as he turned around.

"Did you see what just-"

A small snowball exploded into powder as it hit Jestros' chest. Clay hid behind the tree as he held in his laughter. He quickly made another snowball with a mischievous grin and prepared to throw it. His grin quickly disappeared when a watermelon sized snowball hit him square in the face and knocked him to the ground. Jestro let out a hysterical laugh as Clay sat back up and brushed the snow off himself. In a matter of moments, Clay and Jestro were chasing each other around the courtyard and throwing snowballs at each other; unaware that three of the cursed monsters were watching them from a window on the second floor of the castle.

Lavaria rested her head in her arms as she watched the sight. Whiparella smiled joyfully while Magmar nodded in approval.

"This might work after all." Magmar made himself sound optimistic.

"I haven't seen Jestro this happy in years." Lavaria spoke out loud. "I think this knight could definitely be the one."

"Yes." Whiparella agreed with her friend. "Perhaps there is something there that wasn't there before."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: This Chapter's a little short. Next one will be longer; promise.**

* * *

 _ **Something Terrible**_

* * *

In the deepest, darkest part of the forest, Monstrox and Roberto made their way through the wood. Roberto held as arms together as he shook; jumping whenever he heard a noise like an owl or a snapping twig. Monstrox had a devilish smile on his face; hands behind his back and walking proudly through the wood. He stopped in his tracks; Roberto almost walking into him.

"We're here." The necromancer announced with a grin.

In front of them was an old worn down building. Vines crawled all over it, the windows on it were broken and shattered and the door was missing. Roberto swallowed a mouthful of spit as he stared at the haunted building.

"What did you say was in here again?" The sculptor asked.

"Just some old dead friends." Monstrox explained. "You should probably stay here at the door."

"What, they don't like the living?"

"Oh no; they love the living. They love how they taste."

Roberto went pale as Monstrox chuckled at his own joke. The sculptor stayed behind and watched from the doorway as the necromancer made his way inside; casually whistling to himself. The inside of the building was worn down and filthy; as if it had been abandoned for many, many years. Roberto began to shake as something terrifying and malformed phased through the ceiling and floated behind Monstrox. Monstrox smiled and closed his eyes.

"Nice to see you again, old ghoulie." He spoke casually.

Monstrox turned around to see a ghost floating there. It almost looked human. But it's eyes were block and hallow and his hair floated in different directions. It wore a strait jacket with the sleeves tied; making it hold itself. The ghost grinned at Monstrox; tilting its head to the side.

"And what do I owe the pleasure, Monstrox?" The ghost questioned.

Monstrox took his hands away from his back and folded them over his front.

"Well, remember how I was going to take over Knighton a few years ago and my plans got derailed for some reason?" The necromancer began to explain. "I'm going to try again tomorrow night. But I need you and your gang of ghoulish ghosts to help me with something."

The ghost raised an eyebrow at Monstrox.

"Why?" It asked, sounding uninterested.

"Well, if it fails there're some delicious souls in it for you." Monstrox offered.

The ghost smiled with a fang filled grin. Another ghost phased through the wall and another one came through the ceiling.

"We are listening." They said in unison.

Monstrox smiled as he began to explain.

"There's this knight that I need to make my plan happen. But he needs a little persuasion." The necromancer explained.

Roberto watched anxiously from the doorway as Monstrox continued to explain.

"Recently, the wizard and the other knights said that they found a place full of monsters. But it makes me think that they might have a screw or two. He's very loyal to his friends and the royal family. But I had a thought. What if they were put in danger? What would he do if some horrible soul sucking ghosts came to Knighton to take his friends and Merlok the wizard away to this old asylum?"

The ghosts gave each other questionable looks before looking back at Monstrox.

"So you want us to go with you to Knighton to take the Knights' friends away, unless he agrees to join you?" The ghosts summarised.

Monstrox grinned devilishly.

"Pretty much." They necromancer uttered.

Roberto stepped away from the door as the ghosts started laughing, saying they would do it. The sculptor looked down at the ground; feeling an uncomfortable empty feeling in his chest as he listened to the evil laughter.

* * *

Back at Knighton, Merlok scratched his head as he and the Knights went through all his books; trying to look for something that could help them rescue Clay. Ava and Robin walked into the study. The children watched as the Knights and the wizard stressfully went through spell books and journals; silently cursing when they found nothing. The two kids looked at each other with worried looks on their faces; knowing why they were doing this.

"Hey, guys." Robin greeted.

The turned snapped out of their stressful mindsets and looked at the doorway. Merlok was still focused on the book he had.

"Hey, little dude; hey, little dudette." Aaron greeted back.

"What brings you too here?" Lance asked as he yawned exhaustedly.

"We wanted to see if any progress has been made about Clay."

Macy looked down at the floor.

"We haven't found anything yet." She answered turning to Merlok. "What about you, Merlok?"

Merlok did not respond. He just stared at his desk; lost in thought. Macy and Aaron went over to make sure he was okay.

"Merlok, are you ok?" Axl asked.

Still no response. Macy grabbed the wizards' shoulder and gently shook him.

"Merlok!" She tried to snap the wizard out of it.

Merlok looked up and looked at the Knights and the children in confusion.

"Hm, pardon?" They wizard muttered.

"You looked really out of it, Merlok." Aaron commented.

"Yeah; are you alright?" Robin asked.

Merlok looked away from the book open on his desk and stood up; using his staff for support.

"Yes, I'm fine." The wizard answered his worried peers. "I just keep thinking that I've seen this dark magic somewhere before. But I still have no idea where from or how to combat it."

"Why can't we just catapult ourselves over the forest if magic isn't going to help?" Lance suggested.

"If you did that, you would turn into a pancake on impact." Ava answered in a rather blank tone.

"Pancake? Where?" Axl asked excitedly.

While the Knights were discussing plans of how they could get back to the castle, Merlok went back into his train of thought. The wizard had a feeling that made his insides turn cold. The dark magic surrounding that castle gave him a sick and disorienting feeling. But it made him think that something was coming. Something terrible.


	13. Chapter 13

**AN: This Chapter is sad.**

* * *

 _ **The Knights Past**_

* * *

 **Clay looked up at the tall building in front of him. This was going to be his first day at the Knights Academy. He thought he should be all pumped up and excited, but he just felt cold and nervous. The young boy looked back to see Merlok at the gate. The wizard watched and waited for Clay to take his first steps into the school, but he knew the child was afraid. Clay just turned around and ran back to the wizard.**

 **"Merlok, I can't do it." Little Clay whimpered as he looked up at Merlok.**

 **"Clay; what's the matter?" The wizard asked in concern.**

 **Clay looked down at the ground as he held his arms.**

 **"I... What if they don't want me here?" Clay asked nervously. "What if I'm not good enough to be a knight?"**

 **Merlok blinked in confusion at the boy before kneeling down to his height.**

 **"Clay, I know this is a big step and it's okay to be nervous." The wizard put a hand on the nervous child's shoulder. "But I definitely know that you have the right qualities to be a knight."**

 **Before Merlok could reassure Clay anymore, a small crashing sound with a childish squeak came from the street. Clay and Merlok looked that way to see a child lying on the street; fallen over with some groceries dropped on the ground.**

 **"Oh, dear." Merlok muttered as Clay quickly went over.**

 **Clay looked in concern as the child got back up. Clay noticed that his clothes were brightly coloured with light purple and blue. He had a hood, but it was down; showing his short and messy light brown hair. The child sat up and looked at all the groceries he dropped on the ground.**

 **"Oh, no." He squeaked; sounding like he was about to panic.**

 **"Are you okay?" Clay asked.**

 **The boy almost jumped and turned to see Clay. He just froze and stared at him.**

 **"Would you like me to help you?" Clay asked.**

 **The boy looked back and forth between Clay and the dropped items. He stayed silent, but he nodded. Merlok observed as Clay helped the boy pick up his groceries and put them back in the two bags he had. Clay filled one bag up while the boy filled up the other. Clay stood up with the bag as the boy quickly got up. Clay was about to give him his bag back.**

 **"Here you go." He smiled as he held out the bag.**

 **The boy took the bag and held them both in his arms. He looked down at the ground as his pale cheeks turned bright red.**

 **"Thank you." He said quietly.**

 **Clay gave the boy a friendly smile before speaking again.**

 **"I'm Clay." He introduced himself. "What's your name?"**

 **The boy looked up at Clay; cheeks still red. He was about to say something.**

 **"Sweetheart! Where are you?"**

 **A female voice called out. The boy looked in the direction of the voice.**

 **"Coming, Whippy!" He called back.**

 **The boy looked at Clay briefly before running off with his bags of groceries. Clay blinked in confusion before walking back to Merlok. The wizard came up to the boy and kneeled down at his level again.**

 **"See Clay? You do have what it takes." Merlok said suddenly.**

 **Clay tilted his head slightly.**

 **"What do you mean, Merlok?" He questioned.**

 **"You always help people when they need it. That, my boy, is the best quality a knight can have." Merlok explained.**

 **Clay looked back towards the way the boy went; thinking about what Merlok just said. The wizard gently placed his hand on his shoulder.**

 **"Do you really think I can do it?" Clay asked as he looked up at the wizard.**

 **"By every spell that I know, I absolutely believe it." Merlok encouraged.**

 **Clay looked at the gates of the academy. He still had that nervous feeling, but Merlok and his words gave him the courage he needed to overcome it. The boy looked up at the wizard with a smile.**

 **"I'll give it everything I've got!" He said before running to the entrance.**

 **"That's the way to do it, Clay Moorington!" Merlok called back. "I'll be here to pick you up later!"**

 **Clay ran with a leap as he entered the gates of the academy. He had the courage to try his best. He had the courage to fulfil his dream of becoming a knight.**

* * *

Jestro leaned his back against the wall as he read his book in the entrance room. He was lost in thought as he read a book from the Knights of the Red Rose series. He did not notice Clay coming over and sitting next to him. Clay was back into the under layer of his armour with his crest. The knight curiously wandered what the jester was reading.

"What are you reading?" He asked.

Jestro quickly turned his head in surprise. He quickly calmed down when he realised it was just Clay.

"Umm, one of those Red Rose Knights books." He answered; showing Clay the cover.

Clay looked at the cover of the book and smiled a little.

"I remember that one. It's the one where Daniel has to guard the prince from the dark lord." The knight recalled.

"And he doesn't know it's him because he's disguised as a jester." Jestro added.

Both Clay and Jestro laughed slightly as they both recalled that part of the book. They both heard the monsters in the living room; laughing as they played a game together.

"What're they doing?" Clay asked.

"Playing Decks Against the Kingdom." Jestro answered.

"Hmm. They really know how to have fun."

Jestro looked down at the floor; closing his book and holding it close.

"Laughter seems to die whenever I come into a room." He started speaking quietly. "Before the curse happened, we were like a big family. But now... I can't look at them wouldn't thinking that it's my fault that they're what they are now."

Clay grew concerned as Jestro turned still and silent. The knight leaned against the wall and stretched his leg out forward.

"I like your family." Clay commented. "They make me wander what mine would've been like."

Jestro looked up and blinked at Clay.

"You don't have one?" He asked, surprised and concerned.

"Merlok raised me from when I was just a baby." Clay explained. "I look up to him as if he was my father. Even though he's old enough to be my grandfather."

Jestro laughed a little at Clays' last remark.

"But he always believed in me." Clay continued to explain. "He helped me achieve my dream of becoming a knight to help people. And my friends too. We all became the five Knights of Knighton."

Jestro smiled a little before staring into space.

"Your town sounds like a nice place." He went to a different topic.

"It is." Clay nodded. "But not much happens. I don't mind helping Merlok with his research or escorting his or her majesty somewhere. But I sometimes wish to go on an adventure somewhere far away; you know?"

Jestro nodded in agreement. He went wide eyed and smiled as an idea formed in his head.

"Let's do it!" He turned to face Clay.

"Huh?" The knight muttered.

"Let's go on an adventure right now."

Jestro grabbed Clays hand and pulled, making him stand up and follow the jester into the living room. The monsters looked up from their card game to see the two.

"Hey, you guys wanna play decks with us?" Beast Master asked as he smiled.

"Uh, maybe later." Clay said back as Jestro pulled him into the library.

When the Knight and their master disappeared, Moltor whispered something to his brother.

"You think they're pulling it off?" He asked.

"Well, they're not yelling at each other so that's a good sign." Flama shrugged.

When they got to the library, Jestro let go of Clay and started looking around frantically.

"Where did I leave it?" The cursed jester muttered to himself.

Clay watched as Jestro ran over to a shelf near the window and started climbing it. The knight watched in shock before interfering.

"Wait, you might hurt yourself!" Clay warned.

Jestro climbed back down and looked at Clay.

"But I do this all the time." He insisted.

"At least let me help you."

Jestro was about to abject, but he could only make a squeak as Clay grabbed him and lifted him onto his shoulder. Jestro looked down at Clay as his cheeks darkened in blue. But Clay was oblivious to it.

"That's better, right?" The knight asked with a smile.

"Umm, yeah." Jestro replied quietly.

Jestro went through the top shelf and its books. He gasped and smiled when he found what he wanted.

"Found it." He announced; pulling it out of the shelf.

Jestro held onto it as Clay gently put him back on the ground. He watched ad followed as the jester ran to one of the desks and placed a rather large book on top of it.

"What is this?" Clay asked.

Jestro stopped all of a sudden and frowned a bit.

"I don't really how it got here or who owned it." He tried to explain. "But it can take you anywhere you want."

Clay covered his eyes as Jestro blow a thick layer of dust off the newly opened pages. The knight stared at the page; mesmerised by the gold ink in the picture of the world inside.

"It's an atlas." He realised.

Jestro nodded.

"You can leave the castle anytime you want?" Clay asked.

"Not exactly." Jestro answered. "It can let you see places and walk around in them. But no one else can see you there."

Jestro looked at the page with saddened stare.

"It's probably for the best. The world is no place for something like me."

Clay looked at the jester with concern. Jestro quickly changed his expression and smiled at Clay.

"So where to?" He asked.

Clay looked at the atlas curiously.

"How does it work?" He asked; even though he knew it was magic.

Jestro gently grabbed Clays hand and put it on the page.

"Just close your eyes and think of something that you really want." He instructed.

Clay did what Jestro said. He closed his eyes, but he felt Jestro put his hand on top of his. Clay could not see what was happening, but he could feel a breeze blow as light hit his eyelids. When the breeze stopped, Clay opened his eyes. He blinked in surprise; realising that he and Jestro were no longer in the library. They were not even in the castle. They were in an old small house. Layers of dust were on everything like the furniture and the floor. Jestro looked around; a bit confused.

"This is not what I was expecting." He thought out loud.

"I don't understand." Clay also thought aloud. "I tried thinking of home."

"This is where you live? I thought you would have a snazzier place than this."

Clay shook his head in disbelief.

"I don't know how. But this place feels, familiar." The knight muttered.

Clay noticed something in the corner of the room. He walked to it while Jestro went into a different direction. Clay looked at two empty beds and a baby cot in the corner. He was not sure how or why, but it felt familiar to him. After looking at it, Clay noticed that there was a symbol on the end of the cot. It was a wood craved drawing of an eagle. Clay's eyes widened. He looked down at his shirt. It was the exact same symbol. The knight stared into nothing as he realised what was happening.

"This is my family crest." He said to himself. "My parents lived here."

Jestro heard Clay talk. The jester looked into his corner. He felt a chill go up his spine when he noticed something on the floor. It was a mask shaped like a bird's beak. Jestro put his hand over his mouth when he realised what it was. A doctor's mask.

"They were... they..."

He could not bring himself to say it. But Clay saw the mask. The knight clutched the crest on his shirt as he pictured what happened. He pictured his parents laying sick and dying in their beds with the doctor looking over them. He kept thinking that Merlok might have been there; watching the whole thing in horror and wishing he could do something. He could hear the sound of a crying baby in the cot. He pictured his parents begging Merlok to take their child and save him from catching their illness. He pictured a sad and distraught Merlok taking the crying baby out of his cot and taking him away from the ill ridden house. Clay sat down on the floor with his face in his hands. Jestro quickly kneeled down beside him.

"What's wrong?" The jester asked.

Jestro felt his heart sink when Clay took his hands away from his face; showing his eyes pouring with hot tears. Clay looked at the jester as the tears continued to fall.

"I asked Merlok what happened to them many times." His voice shivered as he spoke. "But every time he tired, he just didn't have the heart to tell me. Now I understand why."

Jestro felt a cold feeling in his guts as he watched Clay sit there; like a sad statue. Jestro was not sure if it was the right time, but he needed to get it off his chest. He gently grabbed Clays hand and looked down at the floor.

"...Clay…"

Clay looked up and stared at the jester; noticing that he called him by his name for the first time.

"I'm sorry for locking up your friends." Jestro apologised. "And I'm sorry I yelled at you so much."

Clay looked at Jestro blankly; tears still flowing. The knight stood up as he held the jesters hand. Jestro stood up as Clay closed his eyes.

"Let's go home." Clay whispered.

Jestro nodded; closing his eyes like Clay did. They both felt the breeze and felt the light on their eyelids. When it stopped, they opened their eyes to see they were back in the library; as if they never left. Jestro looked back at Clay. The knight wiped his eyes with his sleeve; drying them from the tears.

"Are you gonna be okay, Clay?" The jester asked in concern.

"I'm fine; I'm fine." Clay answered in a shaky voice. "I know what happened now. But I'm grateful."

Clay looked at Jestro with his now tear-free eyes.

"I just realised that I never thank you for saving my life last night. So, thank you."

Jestro rubbed the back of his neck as his checks darkened again.

"Well I never thanked you for not leaving me to be eaten by wolves. So thank you." He spoke rather shyly.

Clay smiled and chuckled a little. Just then, Burnzie and Sparkks peeked through the doorway.

"Hey, there you two are!" Sparkks called out, getting Clay and Jestros attention.

"Dinner's ready! We're having chicken!" Burnzie added.

Clay thought chicken sounded great. He could go for some food after all that just happened. Jestro was already following the two big monsters and left the library. Clay made his way out of the library and it out of the living room. He stopped in his tracks in the entrance room when he saw his vehicle in the middle of the room. Burnzie and Sparkks looked down at him and spoke.

"We think we might have broken your ride when we kicked your friends out." Burnzie explained.

"So we fixed it for you and brought it in from outside." Sparkks finished.

Clay looked over the sword shaped vehicle. The giant dent that was in it when he tried to escape was gone. He noticed that Burnzie and Sparkks even polished it for him. Clay smiled and looked up at the two monsters.

"Thank you. Thank you very much." He said in gratitude.

Sparkks played with his hands as he looked down at the floor. Burnzie sniffed the air; smelling delicious cooked chicken.

"Oh, I'm so hungry." The big monster ran past Jestro into the dining room.

Clay and Sparkks followed Jestro, but they stopped when they heard noise.

"Hey, that was my chicken leg!" Flama's angry voice could be heard.

"Snooze and you lose, pal!" Moltor replied in the same tone.

"Why you little-"

Jestro, Clay, Burnzie and Sparkks heard what sounded like a fight break out between the two brothers. Soon, everyone could be heard trying to break up the fight. Clay watched as Jestro peeked in. As the jester was about to say something, a handful of mashed potato hit him in the face. Everyone gasped and froze when they saw their master standing there; covered in mash potato. Clay, Burnzie and Sparkks just walked in as Jestro wiped the goop off and gave everyone at the table a big yellow eyed glare.

"Who, threw, that?" Jestro said in an unsettlingly calm voice.

Everyone but Moltor stayed still. Jestro could see that Moltor had a very guilty look on his face. Jestro slowly walked towards the table; looking directly at Moltor. The boulder fisted monster froze as Jestro walked towards him and looked down on him with a blank face. Moltor and the other monsters watched anxiously as Jestro pick up a bowl of ketchup and raised an eyebrow at Moltor.

Before Moltor could say something to defend himself, Jestro slammed the bowl of sauce into the monsters face. Moltor wiped the sauce from his face and looked up at Jestro. After a few silent seconds, Jestro started laughing. As their master laughed more, everyone else joined in. Pretty soon Moltor was laughing as well. Even Clay. Flama stood up and raised his arms.

"FOOD FIGHT!" He yelled out.

In a matter of seconds, Jestro and the monsters were throwing food at each other and laughing hysterically. Lavaria and Whiparella quickly ducked under the table.

"What a bunch of pigs!" Whiparella angrily whispered.

Lavaria just smiled and giggled. Whiparella raised an eyebrow at the monster woman beside her.

"What're you so happy about?"

"I've haven't heard Jestro laugh like that in years." Lavaria explained; watching as Clay joined the food fight. "I think we'll be human again pretty soon."


	14. Chapter 14

_**The Plan**_

* * *

When dinner was over and everyone got themselves cleaned up from the food fight, Clay and Jestro went to bed early in their rooms. The lava monsters took the opportunity to have a meeting among themselves. All the monsters gathered in the living room; speaking to each other rather loudly. Magmar walked into the middle of the room and cleared his throat.

"Alright; everyone settle down now." He called out.

Everyone just ignored Magmar and continued talking. Magmar glared at them.

"I said settle down!" He repeated.

Everyone just kept talking. Having enough, Magmar put his hand under his mask and his fingertips in his mouth; letting out a high pitched whistle. Everyone covered their ears and quieted down. Magmar smiled briefly under his mask.

"Thank you. Now, I have called this meeting because there is an important topic we need to discuss and act upon." Magmar started. "I'm sure you've all noticed that Jestro and Mr Moorington have been getting along rather well as of late."

The monsters nodded in agreement.

"And Jestro hasn't been talking in that scary electrical voice since last night." Beast Master pointed.

"And he's been smiling like he used to." Sparkks added.

"Yes; that's very good." Magmar agreed.

The general put his arms behind his back and stood up straight.

"But I'm afraid we have an emergency on our hands."

Everyone stopped talking and looked at Magmar with confused faces.

"I checked the rose before Jestro went to bed." He spoke; trying to sound calm and collected. "It only has four petals left."

As soon as Magmar delivered the news, all the other monsters began to panic. Lavaria stood up and spoke.

"But we haven't felt any tremors." She pointed out.

"And there were six left yesterday!" Flama added.

Book Keeper nodded as he shook.

"What does this mean?" Whiparella questioned in worry.

"Look; I don't want to cause a panic. But I have an estimate." Magmar tried to sound reassuring. "The rose appears to be losing petals faster now. If I had to take a guess..."

Magmar looked uncertain as he calculated how much time they had before the rose wilts and loses all its petals. Everyone looked at him with scared and nervous eyes.

"We probably only have till the morning after tomorrow."

Magmar wished he said nothing when all the other monsters started panicking.

"I don't wanna be a walking fire hazard forever!" Flama held the flames of his head.

"What're we gonna do!?" Burnzie questioned in panic.

Book keeper was sitting on the floor; holding his legs and rocking back and forth.

Magmar held the bridge of his nose as he sighed in frustration. Lavaria quickly ran to the front of the room and let out a high pitched whistle. Everyone went silent and gave Lavaria their attention.

"Look everyone; I know this sounds bad! We're all terrified!" She admitted. "But we still have a chance. Now we'll just have to be quick."

"But how the heck are we supposed to get them to fall in love with each other by tomorrow!?" Moltor questioned. "They've barely made it into the friend zone!"

"But they've been getting along pretty well today." Flama shrugged.

Whiparella stood up before speaking.

"We need ideas." She exclaimed the obvious.

"If any one has any, feel free to tell us." Lavaria added.

All the monsters started discussing how they could get their master and the knight to fall for each other in time for the deadline. Book keeper stopped rocking back and forth and looked up at everyone. The little monster looked at Lavaria and raised his hand; making her quickly notice.

"Yes, Book Keeper? Do have an idea?" Lavaria asked eagerly.

Everyone went quiet as Book Keeper walked up to Lavaria. He gestured for her to come down. Lavaria bent down and Book Keeper started whispering something into her ear; making everyone lean in to listen. Lavaria went wide eyed and blinked. Everyone else looked at each other in question.

"You really think that would work?" Lavaria asked.

Book keeper just nodded with a smile.

"Sounds a little cliché if you ask me." Moltor remarked.

"At this point, I think we're willing to try anything." Beast Master replied.

"But where would we do it?" Sparkks questioned.

Everyone scratched their heads in thought. Whiparella spoke up.

"How about the dark arena?" She suggested.

"That place is a bit grim for a dance, isn't it?" Magmar raised an eyebrow.

"We can fix it up a little!" Lavaria said excitedly.

"We can put in marble tiles and decorations!" Flama added in the same tone.

Everyone got excited about changing the arena into something else, but Magmar was hesitant.

"But how long would it take?" The general questioned.

"I bet if we start now, we could get it down by tomorrow afternoon!" Burnzie estimated.

Everyone agreed with Burnzie.

"Alright; let's get to work!" Lavaria put her hands on her hips.

Lavaria started giving everyone instructions; telling half of them to either get tools and supplies from storage and telling the other half to go to the dark arena to wait for further instructions.

* * *

Jestros' eyes flattered open as the sun shine hit him. With a short yawn, he sat up and rubbed the tiredness out of his eyes. He looked over to the balcony and stared at the rose; knowing all too know that a petal had fallen off the stem and was on the table; four remaining. Jestro sighed to himself as he played with his morning bed hair. His ears perked up when he heard a noise from down stairs. Curious of the noise, Jestro pushed the covers off of himself and jumped out of bed. He followed the sound of talking accompanied by what he thought sounded like electrical tools. He made it to the top of the stairs when he heard the sound of Magmars' voice.

"Yes; put that over there."

Jestro raised an eyebrow when he noticed where that came from. He looked at the large door at the top of the stairs. 'No way' he thought. He knew the dark arena was behind that door, but after the curse was put on them, no one went in anymore. Jestro slowly pushed the large door open. He peeked in to see something that surprised him. The monsters were in the dark arena, but they were doing something very unexpected. They were changing it. Some of it was already changed. I chandelier was being lifted and pulled up to the ceiling by Burnzie and Beast Master; probably one they stole when they were still human. The big pit of lava in the middle was gone and replaced with marble tiling. Jestro could not think of how they did that, but questioning it might give him a headache. The old banisters were being taking down and being replaced with more fancy and welcoming ones and decorations were being set up. Jestro saw Magmar in the middle of it all; looking over everyone and making sure everything was in order.

"Book Keeper, don't lift that by yourself; got Sparkks to do it!" The general called out. "Good job, Burnzie and Beast Master; you're doing very well with that chandelier!"

Jestro opened the door a little and entered. No one noticed him because they were busy.

"What's all this?" He asked curiously.

Magmar and the other monsters turned their attention to the doorway; falling silent when they saw their master standing there in his pyjamas. Lavaria stepped forward and spoke up.

"You're up early, Jestro." She answered.

"Yeah, you usually sleep till ten." Flama added.

Jestro just shrugged before replying.

"I noticed the dark arena looks different." He pointed out the obvious.

"Well there's a reason behind that, master." Magmar answered back. "Book Keeper came up with a plan that could help you win Mr Mooringtons' affections."

Jestro saw Book Keeper smile and wave from the corner of the now changed arena. He tilted his head in confusion.

"What kind of plan?" He questioned curiously and worryingly.

At that moment, Clay was on the other side of the door. Magmar was about to explain.

"Well you see, master. We turned the arena into a ballroom and we think-"

Clay walked through the door before Magmar could finish. He and the other monsters froze when they saw the knight. Jestro turned to see him looking in wander at the new room. Clay put his hands on his hips; admiring the interior of the arena turned ballroom.

"This is a lovely ballroom." The knight commented.

The monsters smiled to themselves and each other while Jestro played with his pyjama sleeve nervously.

"Well, actually it's-"

"A room we haven't used in a very long time!" Whiparella finished the jesters' sentence.

"So we figured we should clean it up and put it to some use." Lavaria added.

Jestro looked at the two monsters on his sides and shook nervously.

"Y-yeah." He spoke meekly. "It actually looks good enough for a dance."

He nervously laughed as the monsters looked at him with weird faces.

"Sure."

Jestro and the monsters went wide eyed. They all looked at Clay as he smiled a little.

"What'd you say?" Flama and Moltor asked.

"I would like to have a dance here. What time do you want me here?" Clay answered politely.

Jestro stared at the knight as the colour in his face darkened again. The jester was about to answer.

"How about ten a clock tonight?" Lavaria answered before her Master could; making him froze in place.

Clay smiled at everyone.

"Alright; I'll see you there." He said before leaving to train before breakfast.

When Clay left the room, all the monsters cheered among themselves; giving each other high fives while Jestro stood there frozen.

"I knew we could do it!" Lavaria sounded triumphant.

"Should be smooth sailing from here!" Flama smiled greatly. "Right, J-man?"

Instead of replying, Jestro just went limp and fainted; falling backwards into Burnzies' arms rather comically. Everyone looked with concern while Magmar rubbed his forehead.

"Oh dear." The general muttered to himself.


	15. Chapter 15

**AN: Chapter is a little short.**

* * *

 _ **Captured**_

* * *

Macy leaned against the doorway with her arms crossed over her chest. She looked into Merloks study; seeing the other Knights and the wizard fell asleep out of exhaustion from looking for a way to rescue Clay. She looked out the window; seeing that it was already sunset. The princess knight tapped her foot as she thought about Clay. She tried not to think about it, but she could not help it. She kept thinking that Clay could be in some horrible situation in that castle. Macy looked at the sleeping occupants in the study; knowing nothing was going to be done if they stayed here.

"I can't stand it anymore." She thought as she left the study.

Macy quickly walked all the way to her room. She opened the door and began to look around for something that she needed. She opened her closet to find a large duffel bag and some weapons. The princess knight grabbed a few extra maces and put them in the bag. She grabbed some electric smoke bombs that she 'burrowed' from the palace armoury and some hair pins she could use for lock picks. Macy had a feeling that Clay was still locked up so she knew it was a necessity.

"Macy?"

Macy quickly turned and got up when she heard Aarons' voice. He was standing there in the doorway with a confused look on his face.

"What are you doing?" The archer asked as he blinked tiredly.

Macy tried to think of an excuse, but she knew she had to tell the truth.

"I'm going to save Clay." She spoke firmly; continuing to pack her duffel bag.

"How would you? We can't even reach the castle anymore!" Aaron reminded.

"I know that! But I know there has to be another way through!"

Macy picked up the duffel bag and put it over her shoulder. She gave Aaron a stern look.

"So don't try and stop me."

Macy was about to walk out of the room and leave the palace when Aaron gently but forcefully grabbed her arm. The princess knight grunted as she pulled away.

"I said don't stop me Aaron! I'm not going to rest until Clay is free from that white haired monster!" She warned.

"Macy, I'm not trying to stop you." The archer answered. "But we can't let you go by yourself."

Macy raised an eyebrow at Aaron.

"Aaron's right."

Macy heard the deep voice of Axl behind her. See turned to see him and Lance standing in the hall; both in their armour and equipment.

"Where's Merlok?" Macy asked.

"He'd asleep in his study. We figured he needed beauty rest." Lance answered.

"We still haven't found anything that could help us." Axl spoke in disappointment.

"But we still need to try." Aaron added.

"And as much as I hate to admit it, I miss hearing Clay say' Lance; stop using your shield for a mirror and get back to training!" Lance tried to be serious.

Macy loosened up as she realised what was going on. She blinked as she looked at the three Knights.

"You want to go with me?" She questioned.

"Well we can't let you have all the fun." Lance joked.

The boys smiled at their friend as she started smiling too.

"I appreciate this, guys. Let's go save our friend." Macy was about to lead the way.

The Knights followed Macy. She knew of a way to get out of the palace without getting spotted, but the squirebots that were supposed to guard the front of the palace were asleep on the job. The Knights borrowed some hover horses from the armoury and started making their way out of town. Several towns' people saw them, but they did not pay any mind. Robin and Ava saw them from their homes. The two children both had worried looks in their eyes as they watched from their windows.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." They thought at the time.

The Knights slowed their hover horses down as they approached the forest. They knew they were getting close to the blocked path, but they planned on finding another way through. Lance was yawning as his horse went forward. He stopped when he heard the sound of a branch breaking. The rich knight looked around.

"Did you guys hear that?" He asked in an unsuspecting tone.

"Hear what?" Axl asked.

Before Lance could answer, the sound came back; louder this time. Arron and Macy heard it as well. The princess knight ordered the others to stop. Everyone stayed very still. Macy felt a cold chill in the pit of her stomach. Everyone jumped as a sinister laughed came out the trees. Macy went wide eyed when she realised what was happening.

"We're being ambushed." She thought.

Large amounts of yellow glowing eyes appeared in the bushes and among the trees as Macy ordered the others to ready their weapons. But they were ambushed from above by a group of gargoyles made of stone. More monsters made of stone attacked as the Knights tried to fight back. But they were outnumbered and over powered. Pretty soon, they were wrapped in chains and struggling against them. The monsters laughed as they watched them struggle and squirm.

"Not again!" The Knights yelled in their heads.

As they continued to struggle, two men appeared before them. They looked up and froze at the sight. One was rather normal looking and human with a worried look on his face. The other was anything but. His face was covered by his dark hood. But his eyes and mouth could be seen glowing as he smiled devilishly.


	16. Chapter 16

**AN: Look; my family and i are going through a rough time right now. so please do not hassle me about when the next chapter is. Ok?**

 **And listen to the song Blue Magic by Kelly Hogan while you read the dance scene. It strangely fits.**

* * *

 ** _Dance_**

* * *

"This is insane."

Jestro washed the soap and suds out of his hair as he showered under the hot water coming down on him. Lavaria, Magmar, Beast Master and Moltor stood on the other side of the shower curtain; trying to boost Jestros confidence. But so far, it was not working.

"Tonight is a very important night for you, master." Magmar reminded. "Should be quite a show."

"Magmar; when I said that we should have a dance, I was being shy and mildly sarcastic! I didn't think Clay would actually say yes!" Jestro said as he continued to wash.

"Well, he said yes. So it's on." Moltor replied with a shrug.

Jestro turned off the water and poked his head through the curtain; showing him and his hair soaking and dripping with water.

"Guys; I'm really terrified right now!" The jester spoke in scared honesty. "What if he just rejects me if I tell him?"

"He won't." Beast Master reassured.

"Everything will go as it should; you'll see." Lavaria added with a confident tone.

Jestro took the towel on top of the curtain and wrapped it around his middle and covered himself. He pulled back the curtain and stepped out the shower carefully.

"How's it going to go again?" He asked for a reminder.

"After we give you a makeover, you'll get dressed and go down stairs for the dance." Lavaria began to explain as she led Jestro to a chair in front of a mirror. "There will be music, beautiful candlelight provided by Flama and then when the moment is right, you confess your feelings to him."

Jestro tensed up as he sat down in the chair.

"But how will I know when to say it?" He asked nervously.

"You'll feel slightly nauseous." Magmar answered blatantly.

Jestro just moaned worriedly as Moltor put an old towel below his neck and tied it around. Lavaria put her hands on Jestros face and made him look up at her.

"Jestro; I know this is a bit scary for you. But you have to understand that if you succeed at this, everything will turn out great." She tried to reassure him.

"But it seems kinda outlandish. A knight falling for a jester." Jestro spoke pessimistically.

"Well don't think of yourself as a jester." Moltor suggested.

"Yes. Because tonight, you are not a jester." Lavaria added.

Jestro looked up at her with a confused look as she smiled at him.

"Tonight, you will be a prince." Lavaria finished.

Jestro blinked before he looked into the mirror in front of him. It was one of the few that he did not break or destroy after the curse was done. He did not like looking at himself nowadays because he thought of himself as some sort of monster; even though Lavaria and Whiparella always told him otherwise. But until Clay came, he never thought better of himself; let alone as a prince. Jestro looked down as his cheeks darkened in hue and turned dark blue.

"You really think so?" He asked meekly.

"I know so." Lavaria said as she grabbed a comb and scissors. "Now sit up straight and face forward, sweetie."

Lavaria, Magmar and Moltor started getting to work to make Jestro look presentable. Lavaria worked on small amounts of makeup to apply on him; picking out some black lipstick, eyeliner and eyeshadow. Magmar began to cut Jestros' wild hair to a shorter and manageable length. Moltor grabbed the outfit that Whiparella made for Jestro to wear tonight. Magmar finished cutting Jestros' hair; smiling at his work. Lavaria looked at the finishing result with a raised brow.

"What is this?" She asked.

"What? What's wrong with it?" Magmar crossed his arms; sounding offended.

Moltor put his fist over his mouth as he tried to hold in his laughter. Jestro tilted his head to the side as he looked into the mirror. Magmar did not really cut his hair. All he seemed to do was make it twice as wild as before; except he had ribbons tangled in it. Lavaria sighed in frustration as she pushed the general aside.

"I'll do the hair and the makeup. You two get his outfit ready." She ordered as she proceeded to fix Jestros' hair.

In the east wing, Whiparella and Book Keeper were getting Clay ready for the dance. Clay stood still as Whiparella made the finishing touches on his outfit. Clay was wearing a blue velvet dress shirt with gold pattern threads sewn into it with a pair of black formal pants and a pair of black dress boots. Whiparella smiled as she finished cutting the last thread.

"All done." She proclaimed.

Clay turned around and looked at himself in the mirror. The knight thought of how this was almost like his graduation from the Knights Academy. He and the other Knights had to dress similar to what he was wearing. They didn't have to dance, but Clay remembered how he practiced in secret before the big night. Clay looked at himself; admiring Whiparellas' work.

"It's been so long since I made something like this." Whiparella reminisced.

"I love it; it's brilliant." Clay answered back; turning away from the mirror.

Whiparella smiled with glee while Book Keeper gave the knight thumbs up. Clay smiled back.

"Is Jestro nervous about this?" He asked out of curiosity.

"A bit. But deep down, he's just excited." Whiparella answered with a nod.

Clay nodded back in response. He could not admit it, but he was a bit nervous too. He was not sure what kind of events would unfold tonight. He would just have to wait and see.

After a few minutes, everyone and everything was ready. Magmar, Lavaria and Moltor lead Jestro to the ballroom as he looked down at his new outfit. Whiparella made a light blue and purple dress coat for Jestro that went down to his knees. The sleeves were a bit long, but he did not mind. He wore a black turtleneck under the coat along with his black fingerless gloves. His pants and boots were both dark black; making it hard to tell if they were separate. His hair was now shorter and up to ears length after Lavaria fixed it from the way Magmar did it. His makeup was fresh on his lips and eyelids; also thanks to Lavaria.

"Nervous, master?" Magmar asked; noticing Jestros worried face.

Jestro looked up as they reached the top of west wing stairs.

"A little." The cursed jester spoke calmly. "But I think-"

Jestro fell silent and stared in awe when he looked across to the east wing stairs. Clay was standing right there. All dressed up and ready for the dance. Whiparella and Book Keeper gave the knight encouraging smiles before he started making his way down the steps. Jestro felt his heart beating faster as he looked at Lavaria and Magmar with an uncertain and terrified look in his eyes. Lavaria gently put her hand on his cheek and gave him a reassuring smile.

"You can do this. Your knight is waiting for his prince." She spoke in a gentle voice.

Jestro looked at Magmar and Moltor. They both nodded in agreement. The dressed up jester calmed himself and nodded before he made his way down the stairs just as Clay did; the monsters watching in excitement and anticipation. Clay and Jestro made it to the bottom of the steps; now in front of the large doorway. Clay looked at Jestro; admiring his dressed up look. Jestro looked at Clay the same way.

"You look lovely tonight, Jestro." The knight complimented.

"...Thanks. You too." Jestro spoke in a shaky tone.

On the other side, Burnzie and Sparkks opened the door; signalling the others that they were ready. Clay gave Jestro a warm smile as he held his arm out to him. Jestro hesitated for a moment, but he gently grabbed and held Clays arm. The knight and the jester walked into the ballroom while the monsters who got them ready followed them in. Jestro looked around the room; seeing how it was lit by candles and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling; showing the bright decorations, new layout and flooring. He thought it was strange that the place where he and his family were cursed was going to be the place where he would fall in love. Jestro looked straight ahead; trying to hide his nervousness from Clay.

"I haven't danced since I was little. I might be a bit clumsy." He whispered; loud enough for Clay to hear.

"I'll lead you through it if you want." Clay offered as they stopped in the centre of the room.

Magmar turned to look at Beast Master in the corner and nodded at him; signalling him to start the music. Beast Master bent down and turned on a stereo they found in storage. He turned the volume up as soft and gentle music started playing. The monsters watched as Jestro looked up at Clay nervously. Clay gave the jester a reassuring stare as he held his hands out. With slight hesitation, Jestro let Clay take his hands guide him through the dance. The monsters watched with anticipation as the two started dancing together. Lavaria looked to her left to see Whiparella tearing up a bit.

"You ok, Whippy?" She asked.

"I'm just... I'm just so proud of our boy." Whiparella smiled as she wiped her tears away.

Lavaria smiled as she returned her attention to Jestro and Clay.

"Me too." She whispered quietly.

Everyone watched as Jestro got the hang of the steps as Clay lead him through it. The music continued to play as they danced in small circles around the ballroom. Jestro looked up at Clay and stared at him. But he quickly looked back when Clay looked at him. The knight smiled warmly before putting Jestro into a twirl.

"You're doing very well, Jestro." He spoke in an encouraging tone.

Jestro was not sure what to say to the knight. But he tried to get something out.

"...I-"

Jestro lost his footing and slipped. The monsters watched and gasped as he fell, but Clay quickly reacted by grabbing him by his waist and holding his hand. Jestro caught his breath as he registered what just happened. His cheeks went dark blue when he realised that Clay was holding him ten inches away from the floor; like he was in the middle of being dipped.

"Are you alright?" Clay asked in a rather concerned voice.

"I-I'm fine." Jestro answered back as Clay brought him back up.

The pair quickly resumed their dance as Magmar looked over at Flama and gave him a signal. Flama gave the general thumbs up before he snapped his fingers. The light from the candles and the chandelier went down and dimmed; giving the room a dark but calm atmosphere. The monsters watched in wonder and awe as the marble floor and the ceiling now resembled a sky of galaxies and stars. Thinking he was now getting the hang of it, Jestro held Clays hand and slowly span him around with him. Clay then responded by putting his hand on Jestros waist and lifting him up off the floor; spinning as he slowly put him back down. Jestro did not know. But he was smiling. Not smiling like he did when Beast Master told him to the other day, but he was smiling in pure joy and delight. The monsters all smiled at each other in triumph; knowing their plan was working like clockwork. Before the music stopped, the pair quietly walked into the corner of the ballroom and sat down on a conveniently placed bench. Clay straightened his collar as he smiled.

"That was fun." He spoke in a breathy voice. "I really enjoyed that."

"Where'd you learn to dance like that?" Jestro spoke with curiosity.

"Well, we had to learn at the Knights academy when we were close to graduating. I think I was the only person looking forward to it."

Jestro smiled before he looked up at the ceiling. The monsters must have remade because it looked just like a sky full of stars.

"Lavaria and Whiparella taught me how to dance when I was little." He reminisced. "I used to step on their toes a lot. Back when she had legs. I didn't really think it would stick."

Clay looked up at starry ceiling like Jestro was doing.

"It's lovely." He leaned back against the wall behind him. "Looking up at this makes me think of Merlok and his fireworks."

Clay turned his head to look at Jestro. He tilted his head to the side; like he was observing an artwork.

"Ya know, it's strange." He folded his hands on his front.

"What's strange?" Jestro asked curiously.

"I only met you two days ago. But I have this feeling that I've seen you somewhere before."

Jestro gave Clay a questionable stare.

"What makes you say that?"

"I don't know. I just have a feeling."

Jestro rubbed his sleeves as he stared at Clay. Now that he mentioned it, he thought he had seen Clay somewhere before as well. But his mind was rather fuzzy for the years after the curse. The cursed jester looked up at the ceiling again.

"Maybe we knew each other in a different life." He suggested and dismissed the other thought.

Jestro took a breath before turning to Clay.

"Clay. I..."

Jestro fell silent when Clay turned to face him. He shook his head as he turned away while holding his arms. Clay blinked as he stared with concern.

"No, it's stupid." The cursed jester muttered like he was scolding himself. "It's stupid of me to think that you would like me."

Clay stared at Jestro as his concern for him grew. The knight blinked as he thought of how to reply.

"I like you. I mean we did get off on a rocky start, but... I really do." The knight explained.

Jestro did not turn back, but he still listened.

"Maybe even more than that."

Jestro quickly turned around and looked at Clay. Did he really just say that he might "like" him?

"Really?" The jester questioned; sounding hopeful. "So, you think you would be happy here? With me and my family?"

Clay stared at the floor. He tried to think of an answer that would not hurt Jestros' feelings.

"I want to. I really do." The knight admitted. "But, can anyone be happy if they're not free?"

Jestro stopped smiling. He looked down to the floor and muttered a disappointed 'oh'. Clay thought he did something wrong.

"I don't mean to be rude. It's just that I miss my friends." Clay reassured; making Jestro look up. "I just wish I could see them. Even for a moment."

Jestro stopped Looking disappointed. He looked like he was thinking of something. The jester stood up off the bench and looked down at Clay.

"Would you like to see them?" He asked; holding his hand out to a confused Clay.

The monsters were still watching as Jestro lead Clay out of the ballroom; following them to his room in the west wing. They stopped and waited outside; knowing that the pair needed some privacy. Inside the room, Jestro let go of Clays hand and made his way to the table. Clay watched as Jestro picked up a handheld mirror off the table and came back over to Clay. The knight came a bit closer to get a better look at the object.

"What's that?" He asked curiously.

"This is something I made when I was still an apprentice." Jestro began to explain. "It's like a smaller version of the atlas. If you want to see someone or something, you just have to ask."

Jestro gave the mirror to Clay; encouraging him to use it. Clay held it up and looked into the reflective glass.

"I'd like to see my friends... please?"

Clay watched with amazed eyes as the mirror began to glow. His reflection turned into a window. Clay was expecting to see Macy, Aaron, Axl and Lance with Merlok. But his hopes turned into fear. The mirror showed Macy and the Knights tied up in chains. He could see them struggling against the chains in what Clay assumed was some kind of room or cage.

"No. Oh, no!"

Jestro looked at Clay; worried by his terror as he looked into the mirror.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"They've been captured by someone!" Clay said in panic.

A voice called out from the other end of the mirror.

"Are we at Knighton yet!?" A voice called impatiently.

Clay put his hand through his hair as he watched the scene and panicked.

"This isn't good!" He muttered.

Jestro watched anxiously as Clay watched his friends being taken. The cursed jester turned away and put his hand over his mouth. He had no idea who would kidnap Clays friends or for what purpose. But they were in danger. He knew what he had to do. But he knew he would be putting Magmar and the others at risk; including himself.

"You have to save them." Jestro spoke blatantly.

Clay looked away from the mirror and stared at Jestro with wide surprised eyes.

"What?" He questioned.

"I release you. You're no longer my prisoner." Jestro spoke; tugging his coat over his chest.

Clay lowered the mirror as he processed what he just heard.

"You mean, I'm free?"

Jestro did not look at Clay. He just nodded. He flinched as he felt Clay wrap his arms around him and hugged him tightly.

"Thank you." Clay spoke in gratitude.

Jestro stood still as Clay let go. The knight looked back into the mirror.

"Hang on, guys. I'm on my way." He spoke into the enchanted object with determination.

Clay turned to Jestro and tried to hand the mirror back to him. But the jester gently pushed it back with a small smile.

"Keep it." He insisted. "Maybe you could use to look back on me."

Clay nodded and gave Jestro an affectionate look.

"I don't think you're a beast." He spoke in a gently and caring tone before turning to leave.

Jestro watched as Clay ran out of the room. Just as Clay left, all the monsters walked in; smiling and unaware of what just happened.

"Well done, Jestro. You were flawless tonight." Whiparella congratulated him.

"You charmed the heck out of him." Burnzie added.

"I knew you had it in you, my boy." Magmar spoke proudly.

Jestro could not look at them in eye. He stared at the floor as he clutched his fist.

"I let him go." He sadly announced.

The smile on everyones' faces turned into shock and horror.

"WHAT!?" Everyone shouted in unison.

Flama stepped forward; his head turning into a giant flame.

"Why the heck would you do that!?" He questioned in slight anger.

Jestro kept his eyes on the ground.

"I had to." He spoke aggressively.

"But why!?" Moltor questioned further.

"BECAUSE I LOVE HIM, THAT'S WHY!" Jestro shouted in his electrical voice; making the monsters gasp.

Jestro looked at their shocked faces; realising what he had just done. He put his hands over his mouth and backed off.

"He said it." Beast Master pointed at the jester. "He said it! He said he loves the knight!"

"Why aren't we changing back?" Sparkks questioned in slight panic.

"It's not enough!" Lavaria answered back. "Clay has to love him back."

Jestro sat down on the end of his bed and covered his face with his hands.

"I'm sorry." He spoke in a shaky voice; getting everyones' attention. "I failed. I've doomed you all."

Whiparella and Lavaria quickly rushed to Jestros' side.

"You haven't doomed anyone, dear." Whiparella took Jestros hand and held it tightly.

"You let him go because you love him. That takes a tremendous amount of courage." Lavaria added as she hugged the jester.

"But, the curse." Jestro uttered sadly.

Magmar came forward and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't blame yourself." He spoke in firm tone. "We have accepted our fate."

"I haven't." Flama angrily muttered.

"Shut up." Moltor angrily whispered to his brother.

Magmar turned to the other monsters with his hands behind his back.

"Our time is running short. We must make do with what we have." He said in a stern tone.

The general turned to Lavaria and Whiparella; telling them that Jestro needed some time to himself. Jestro nodded in agreement. Lavaria and Whiparella got up and followed the other monsters out of the room. When they were gone, Jestro gently took off his coat and placed it on his bed; showing all the black he was wearing underneath. He wondered over to the balcony as a petal fell off the rose. Jestro paid no mind as it hit the table and started another tremor; shaking the castle and making bits of it fall. He did not look at it. But he knew that there were only two petals left. He knew time was against him. Jestro stood on the balcony and looked down below as Clay crossed the bridge in his vehicle. Jestro hardly noticed a lone tear fell from his left eye as he watched his last hope leave. But he thought of everything that happened over the course of the last few days. He only now realised that Clay was a blessing. Clay gave him hope. Jestro watched as Clay disappeared into the woods; closing his eyes when he was gone.

"I know he'll never truly leave. Even if he runs away." Jestro thought to himself as he wondered over to his bed. "I'll fool myself. He'll walk right in."

Jestro sat down on the end of his bed and folded his hands across his knees; as if he was trying to be patient.

"And he'll be with me, for evermore."


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: Warning: There is a bit of blood in this chapter and the next few chapters might end on cliffhangers. Don't say I didn't warn you.**

* * *

 _ **Kill the Beast**_

* * *

Merlok slept soundly against his desk; snoring softly. But the sound of a loud battle horn made him awake with a jolt. The wizard looked around to see that his study was a mess; books laying all over the floor and his desk. The sound of the horn came back; sounding closer this time. Merlok followed the noise and looked out the window to see something that made him gasp in shock. A giant horde of monsters were making their way through town; scaring townspeople and making them get out of the way. From the way they were going, it seemed they were coming towards the castle. Merlok quickly grabbed his staff and ran out of his study. He ran into the king and queen; both looking worried and terrified. The royal couple looked up to see Merlok.

"Merlok! Our daughter is missing!" King Halbert shouted in worry.

Merlok stopped in his tracks when he heard the king panic.

"She's not here?" The wizard questioned.

"No! The other Knights are missing as well!" The queen added.

Before Merlok could answer back, the sound of the horn erupted from outside; making the royal couple and the wizard looked anxiously towards the door. Two squirebots were hiding behind the throne as evil laughter came after the horns.

"Stay here, your majesty." Merlok warned as he moved towards the door.

The king watched anxiously while the queen stared at the door with a glare. Merlok waved his staff over his head and swung forward; making the door open wide on its own. The wizard stopped in his tracks when he witnessed an entire army of stone monsters in front of him. All the towns people ran to the safety of their homes or the nearest building they could find. Robin and Ava were hiding under a fruit stand as the monsters snarled, growled and stared at Merlok.

"Stone monsters?" Robin thought out loud.

"But that's not possible." Ava added.

Merlok stared back at the creatures; remembering what they were.

"This isn't possible." He said out loud.

Evil laughter broke out amongst the monster army. Merlok recognised the laughter.

"It's very possible, old man."

Merlok watched as the monsters in the middle separated from each other and made a path for a man coming through. The wizard gasped as a man in a dark hood walked forward with his hands behind his back with a carriage following him. The man stopped at the bottom of the steps and looked at Merlok with an eerie smile.

"Monstrox!?" Merlok shouted in question.

Robin and Ava stayed silent out of fear as they watched the scene about to unfold.

"Surprised to see me?" Monstrox asked with a devious grin.

"You can't be here! I defeated you and destroyed your army!" Merlok shouted in disbelief

Monstrox stopped smiling and gave the wizard a hateful glare. Roberto watched the scene unfold as he stood behind one of the giant stone monsters.

"But you didn't kill me." Monstrox reminded Merlok of the outcome of their battle. "You did destroy my monsters. But I consider that as a setback."

Merlok gave the necromancer an angry and resentful stare.

"What do you want?" The wizard asked.

Monstrox started smiling again as he walked towards the carriage.

"I want to make a deal." He spoke nonchalantly before turning to the giant monster. "Open the carriage."

The stone monster did as it was ordered and opened the carriage. The king and Queen came out of castle at the same time. They gasped in fear when they saw the Knights wrapped in chains. Their Knights and their daughter were in there.

"Mom! Dad!" Macy called out as she struggled.

"Macy!" Her parents shouted.

They tried to reach out to her, but Merlok pushed them back out of fear for their safety.

"What is the meaning of this, Monstrox!?" The wizard questioned.

"Well, it's like this." Monstrox put his hands behind his back. "I was going to invade Knighton again long after you defeated me. So I rebuilt my army and waited. But I ran into a roadblock."

Monstrox brought his hand out and snapped his fingers; making a short stone monster come forward with something in its hands. Merlok recognised what it was. It was Monstroxs' staff. The very same one he used to raise his army and the same one he fought against Merlok with. But it was broken and split in half.

"A certain someone broke it a few years ago." Monstrox continued to explain. "But I know how to fix it. That's where our little bargain comes in."

"Just get on with it already!" Aaron shouted out; making a monster roar at him to shut up.

"I want you to tell me where Clay Moorington is." Monstrox continued.

"Why do you need Clay?" The queen questioned the necromancer.

The necromancer gave Merlok what could only be described as a smart aleck grin.

"That's for me to know and you to find out." He spoke through his pointed teeth. "If you tell me where he is, I'll let your Knights go. But if you don't..."

As Monstrox went silent, everyone shivered as they felt a cold presence. Without warning, three ghastly spirits rose up from under the ground. Everyone but Monstrox and his monsters gasped and took a step back out of fear. The Knights stayed perfectly still as the three ghosts stared right at them; as if they were looking at an all-you-could-eat-buffet.

"I will take your Knights back to the deepest darkest part of the forest; where my friends will devour their souls." Monstrox finished explaining.

Robin and Ava watched in fear as the king panicked while the queen gave Monstrox a stare of pure hatred and malice. Roberto tapped his master on the shoulder; making him look back and stare.

"Don't you think this is a bit much?" The sculptor questioned the morality of the situation.

Monstrox raised his brow.

"Are you having second thoughts?" The necromancer asked; staring with glowing yellow eyes.

Roberto turned pale as Monstrox stared at him. The sculptor quickly shook his head no. Monstrox smirked back.

"Let them go, Monstrox! They've done nothing to you!" Merlok demanded.

"Not until you tell me where the other one is!" Monstrox turned back to the wizard.

Macy looked at the worried and terrified faces of her parents as Merlok and Monstrox faced off. All the Knights worried about what was going to happen. Just then, the sound of an incoming engine hit their ears. Everyone else heard and looked towards the sound. Axl leaned against the wall of the carriage to stand up. The large knight looked towards the barred window at the back. He went wide eyed when he saw a sword shaped vehicle speeding down the street towards them; including the monsters behind the carriage. Monstrox quickly noticed the sound as it came closer.

"What the-"

Monstrox was cut off when he heard a loud skidding sound and some of his monsters screaming. The sword shaped vehicle stopped at the back of the carriage. Axl smiled when the driver jumped out and climbed onto the roof of the carriage with his sword and shield.

"It's Clay!" The large knight turned to the others.

"Clay!?" They shouted in question and relief.

"Clay!?" Robin and Ava loudly whispered from their hiding spot.

Clay stood on top of the carriage in his armour; tightly holding his sword and having Jestros' mirror tied to his belt as he stared down at the unholy creatures in front of him. He looked towards Monstrox; quickly assuming him as the leader.

"What's going on here!?" The knight questioned.

"Mr Moorington; we were just taking about you." Monstrox spoke with a smirk.

Clay went wide eyed for a second; thinking he heard the voice before.

"Dude, be careful!" Aaron shouted from inside the carriage.

"That's Monstrox!" Lance added.

Clay looked in shock as Monstrox ordered his monsters to close the carriage. Clay gave the necromancer a hateful glare.

"Let them go!" He pointed his sword towards him.

One of the three ghosts appeared in front of Clay and screamed into his face; making him fall backwards. The monsters laughed as the knight tried to get back up.

"Can't do that, shiny boy." Monstrox said as he rubbed his nails on his robe. "You're friends have a one way ticket to the old abandoned asylum in the dark wood; where they will be stripped of their souls."

"You can't do that!" Clay shouted out in protest.

"What makes you think you can stop us?" The ghosts said in unison.

"Seems like they've been making up some wild stories with Merlok; something about a castle full of monsters." Monstrox spoke with sadistic delight.

Clay quickly got back up and stared at Monstrox.

"They speak the truth! I just came from the castle!" The knight argued. "I've met the people inside it!"

Merlok looked at Clay like he was insane.

"Clay, wait-!"

A stone harpy grabbed Merlok and put her hand over his mouth to shut him up. A large stone monster snuck up on the king and Queen; picking them up and making them struggle to get free with no success. Monstrox crossed his arms in disbelief while Roberto watched with suspenseful interest.

"If you've really been to this castle, where's your proof?" Monstrox questioned with a smirk.

Clay glared at the stubborn necromancer; knowing he was not going to give his friends back so easily.

"You want proof?" Clay took the mirror out of his belt. "I'll show you proof!"

Everyone watched in confusion as Clay held the mirror in front of him. Clay took a deep breath before speaking into it and making his request.

"Show me Jestro."

Monstrox stopped smirking and switched to a shocked expression when he heard the knight speak that last word. Clay held out the mirror for everyone to see as it did its thing. Everyone gasped as the enchanted window showed Jestro sitting on the end of his bed. He was doing nothing. But the monsters all snarled and growled at the cursed jester. The ghosts all looked at each other in fear; knowing that what was coming was not worth a feast. The spirits shrieked and flew away at lightning speed. Monstrox did not care one bit. He was too focused on the one in the mirror.

"I can't see what's happening. Are we getting out soon?" Lance asked.

"He looks dangerous." A gargoyle commented.

"He's nothing like that!" Clay took the mirror back. "He may seem that way at first glance."

Clay looked into the mirror to look at Jestro.

"But when you get to know him, he's really kind and loveable."

Everyone looked at Clay in an odd way. But Monstrox stared at him with malice and anger.

"He's... he's my friend." The knight spoke reminiscently.

Monstrox snapped his fingers the second Clay stopped talking. In a split second, a gargoyle flew behind Clay and snatched the mirror from him.

"Hey!" The knight shouted; even though it brought back his focus.

The gargoyle flew over to Monstrox and gave him the mirror. The necromancer looked into the enchanted glass; his disgust growing as he stared at the cursed jester on the other side.

"Jokeboy." Monstrox hissed as he clutched his fist.

"That little weakling!" A stone monster shouted to the air.

Clay raised a brow while Merlok and the others seemed confused.

"How do you know Jestro?" Clay asked hesitantly.

"The little joker was my apprentice! He's the one who broke my staff!" Monstrox explained with anger in his voice.

Clay stared at Monstrox with wide eyes when he realised what was going on.

"You were his master." The knight said as he stared at the horrifying necromancer.

But the stare turned into a grimace of resentment, malice and hate.

"You're the one who placed the curse on Jestro! You cursed him and his family!" Clay pointed his sword towards the necromancer as he accused him.

Monstrox looked up from the mirror with a slow nod.

"Yes. It's all coming back to me." He spoke with a grin coming.

Roberto watched the uncomfortable scene in fear; knowing something terrible was going to happen any second.

"How can you live with yourself after what you've done!? Merlok told me everything about you and your evil deeds!" Clay accused further. "How can you sleep at night knowing that you've ruined countless lives!?"

Everyone but Clay watched as Monstrox raised a brow at the knight.

"Are saying that I pretty much ruined joke boys life?" The necromancer questioned.

Clay felt his insides turn cold as Monstrox stared at him with glowing yellow and red eyes. Everyone felt a chill as the necromancer smiled and started laughing. Roberto watched the scene in fear as the monsters started laughing with him. Monstrox stopped laughing and gave Clay a malicious grin.

"Well if that's the case. Maybe I should put him out of his misery."

Clay felt something grab his shoulders from behind and lifted him off the roof of the carriage. Clay struggled to get free of the gargoyles grip, but more monsters gathered around him and grabbed him; taking away his sword and shield and tossing them to the side. Two large stone monsters held Clay against the carriage; shaking it and making the Knights fear for Clays' life. Merlok tried to break free from the monster holding him back, but he and the king and Queen could only watch as Monstrox walked over to Clay as a monster handed him his broken staff.

"I was going to make you my host, Moorington." Monstrox admitted as Clay continued to struggle. "But after seeing what I turned Jestro into, I realise that I haven't cursed him and turned him into a beast."

One of The monsters holding Clay grabbed his left arm and forced him to hold it out in front of Monstrox. The necromancer gave the knight a devilish smile before he spoke again.

"I've turned him into a powerhouse!"

Monstrox held up his hand and put the nail of his index finger on the palm of Clays' hand. Everyone watched in horror as the necromancer dug his nail into Clays' skin and made him bleed. Clay held in a cry of pain as he felt the sharp dagger-like nail. Roberto went pale as he watched the scene. When he thought it was enough, Monstrox stopped and held the two pieces of his staff together.

"By the powers of dark and evil, I offer the blood of this pure hearted knight and repair what has been broken." The necromancer recited as he placed the two pieces together.

Clay watched in fear as Monstrox placed the broken staff in his bleeding hand. The necromancer made Clay hold it together. In a span of five seconds, the blood dripping on the staff turned into black gunk and spread on the broken parts of the staff. Monstrox smiled in sadistic delight when the gunk disappeared. He made Clay let go. Clay watched in pain as Monstrox held up the staff; now back in one piece. A chilling wind blew as Monstrox held up the staff for everyone to see.

"Guess who's back, baby!?" He shouted out loud; making the monsters cheer and roar.

Monstrox used the magic in his staff to make himself float and land on top of the carriage roof. He held his arms out for attention.

"I'm sure you're all pretty excited and ready to do something after seeing all that; am I right!?" He questioned the army of monsters.

The monsters all cheered and roared in response.

"Well, now that I have all my power back; I want to take over this kingdom!"

The monsters cheered again as Clay and his allies watched in horror and disbelief.

"However! There is something that I want to do before that! You all remember Jestro and his so-called 'family'!?"

The monsters all yelled angrily at the reminder. Clay and Roberto had fear and worry in their eyes as Monstrox continued his speech.

"Yes! He put a complete stop to our plan; all because he had a silly little crush on some boy he met in town! Well, I want to finish what we started! I want to go back to the castle, find Jestro and take over his body so I can rule this realm for many, many years! I WANT TO KILL THE BEAST!"

All the monsters cheered and roared in response. Clay narrowed his brows and stared at Monstrox with burning hatred.

"I won't let you! If you lay a finger on Jestro, I'll destroy you!" The knight shouted as he struggled.

Merlok and the king and Queen stared at Clay with wide eyes; never before hearing him say something like that. Macy and the Knights all stared in shock. Monstrox looked down at Clay with a sinister grin and chuckled.

"I'd like to see you try, Mr goodie knight." He spoke mockingly.

Monstrox continued to chuckle as Roberto watched. The sculptor turned red in the face as his eyebrows went down. He stepped forward and took a deep breath.

"È abbastanza!" The artist shouted at the top of his lungs.

Monstrox and his monsters stared at the artist as he huffed and puffed. Clay and his allies stared with confusion.

"What?" Monstrox asked in confusion.

"I've had enough of this!" Roberto called out. "I had to watch you hurt that boy for years! I saw you twist him in something he never wanted to be! But I will not let you took away his life and replace it for your own! Puoi andare all'inferno per tutto quello che mi interessa!"

Monstrox raised a brow as Roberto finished his sentence in a language he did not understand. But he knew what the sculptor was implying. The Necromancer jumped off of the carriage roof and walked towards him. Roberto quickly realised what he just did and started sweating nervously as Monstrox towered over him.

"So you're pretty much saying that you've turned against me?" Monstrox questioned; eyebrow still raised.

Roberto was too frightened to say anything. He could only nod. With that, Monstrox grabbed Roberto by the collar and threw him through the castle doors; making him scream as he flew past Merlok and the royal couple.

"Lock them in their castle!" Monstrox ordered. "We can't have Mr Moorington running off to warn the jester boy."

The monsters holding Clay carried him into the castle and threw him in. The monsters holding Merlok and the king and Queen threw them inside. The Knights were taken out of the carriage and tossed into the castle. Clay tried to get out but the monsters already closed the doors. Monstrox stepped forward and held his staff over his head. The earth started shaking and rumbled as hard rock shoot out of the ground; blocking the castle doors and trapping them inside. Robin and Ava watched as Monstrox and the monsters left town as they chanted "kill the beast". The two kids crawled out from under their hiding spot.

"This is really bad! This is bad on so many levels!" Robin said in panic. "What're we gonna do!?"

"Robin, we have to stay calm and we just need to think!" Ava said as she looked for a solution.

Ava looked to the right of the palace. Her eyes brightened when she spotted something. Robin followed her as she made her way over. It was the carriage that was used to deliver the fireworks to Festaville the other day. But they did not make it there when Merlok and the Knights got lost in the woods. Ava checked the back of the carriage to see that it still had at least three crates of Merloks famous flaming dragon rocket fireworks. Ava turned to Robin as he smiled.

"You thinking what I'm thinking?" The boy asked excitedly.

"Indeed I am." Ava replied with a smile of her own.


	18. Chapter 18

_**Rumble at the Castle**_

* * *

Clay slammed his fist against the door multiple times. He had no luck getting it open. Macy and the Knights tried to stop; fearing that he might hurt himself if he kept hitting the door. Roberto was lying on the floor as he quietly groaned and rubbed his sore head. Merlok, the king and several squirebots watched as the knight struggled against his friends. Queen Halbert ran to a different room in the castle without saying why.

"Clay, stop; you're going to hurt yourself!" Macy warned her friend.

"I have to get the door open! I have to stop Monstrox; he's going to kill Jestro!"

Clay stopped and fell to the floor when his friends let him go.

"Why do you wanna save that electric guy?" Aaron questioned.

"Yeah, he locked me up!" Lance reminded loosely.

"He locked all of us up, Lance." Macy corrected.

Clay took a few heavy breaths as got up on his knees.

"I know he locked us up." He kept taking heavy breaths as he spoke. "But I've seen the other side of him; the real Jestro."

Everyone looked at Clay while Roberto sat up and listened. The queen came back, but she was wearing her armour and carrying her mace. She listened as Clay continued to speak.

"I tried to escape the castle, but I was attacked by wolves. I thought I was going to die there. But he saved my life. Then, his family told me the truth."

"That, thing has a family?" Lance questioned.

"Sir Lance, don't interrupt." The king advised. "Go ahead Clay."

Clay nodded before he continued.

"Those monsters that locked you all up were his family. They told me that Jestro destroyed the staff of Monstrox when he was going to take over the kingdom and were cursed by the necromancer himself. I was hoping I could help them. But, they couldn't tell me how to break the curse."

Everyone watched as Clay looked down to the floor with a melancholy look on his face. Axl stepped forward.

"So, he got turned into a monster because he tried to do the right thing?" The large knight asked.

Clay could not answer. He just stared down at the floor.

"It's true."

Everyone turned around when they heard a new voice speak up. Roberto got up off the floor as the queen helped him up.

"I saw the whole thing when it happened." The sculptor clarified. "Jestro was just a boy when Monstrox placed the curse on him. And the monsters were humans that didn't have anywhere else to go. Monstrox only kept me unchanged because of my artistry."

King Halbert raised an eyebrow at Roberto.

"Do I know you from somewhere?" His majesty asked suspiciously.

Roberto raised a brow back at the king while the queen walked up at her husband.

"Eggred; don't you recognise him? This is Roberto; our royal sculptor." Queen Halbert reminded.

Everyone but Merlok raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"We have a sculptor?" Macy asked in confusion.

"I 'was' the royal sculpture; but your father fired me because the statue I made for your mother was too bold." Roberto rubbed his nails against his shirt.

"I told you I loved that statue, but you didn't like it because it wasn't how you pictured." The queen crossed her arms as she gave her husband a distasteful look.

"It's not that I didn't like it; I just didn't think it complimented your beauty, my dear." The king answered nervously.

Roberto just rolled his eyes before speaking again.

"As offended as I am; there are more important things to deal with right now." The artist spoke seriously.

"He's right." Merlok agreed with Roberto. "I could sense that someone was in need when we found that castle. If everything that Clay told us is true, then Jestro is the one who is in need of our help."

"Because if Monstrox takes him and uses him for a vessel, he'll..."

Everyone watched as Roberto struggled to get the words out. But Clay knew what he was trying to say from the worried look on his face. Clay was about to respond when a ringtone went off. Lance quickly dug into his pocket and took out his phone.

"Oh, I got a text from a private number." He spoke with mild delight before he started reading it. "Tell everyone to get out of the way right now?"

Everyone looked at Lance with confused faces. Clay heard the sound of a fuse. He looked around to figure out where it was coming from. But he went wide eyed when realised it was just outside.

"Everyone get away from the door!" He shouted, making everyone run away from the door.

Just a second later, the door busted open in an explosion of colour and smoke. Bits of rock went flying after everyone ducked out of the way. After the colourful explosions stopped, Clay and the Knights looked up to see two familiar faces coming towards them with smiles of triumph on their faces.

"Good to see ya, Clay." Robin greeted with a wave.

Everyone went up to Robin and Ava. Axl scooped up the two and hugged them. Everyone joined in; owning the two children a great deal of gratitude.

"Where did you guys get the fireworks?" Macy questioned.

"We used the ones that Merlok made." Ava answered. "As dangerous and drastic as it was, it was quite spectacular."

Merlok smiled at the two child prodigies; proud of them for thinking so quickly. But the wizard stopped when he saw Clay run outside. He followed the knight to see him picking up his sword and shield. Merlok knew that Clay was going back to save Jestro. The wizard approached him.

"I can't let Monstrox hurt Jestro." Clay spoke, knowing Merlok was standing behind him. "He doesn't deserve what he had to go through."

"I understand that Clay." Merlok reassured. "But we don't want you to go alone."

Clay looked behind Merlok to see everyone standing in the doorway with determined looks.

"We want to help too." Robin spoke bravely.

"Even though we still think Jestro is a bit... odd, someone as horrible as Monstrox shouldn't be allowed near him."

"Eggred and I will join the fight as well." The queen held up her mace, making the king smile nervously.

"I will go as well." Roberto stepped forward. "It will cause me great pain to destroy my creations of stone. But I suppose it just wasn't meant to be."

Clay felt a smile come on as his friends all said they would help. He knew there was no time to waste. He told everyone to quickly get ready and follow him to the castle.

* * *

Monstrox looked around the forest; constantly checking the mirror for directions. His army of stone monsters followed and marched towards the castle. He stopped when he reached the giant tree blocking the way. Monstrox held up his staff.

"Ravaging rot." The necromancer whispered.

An eerie green glow illuminated from the staff as Monstrox pointed it to the tree. In a matter of seconds, the tree began to rot. The tree some turned to ash. Then the ash turned to nothing. Monstrox smiled and continued the march when the way to the castle was clear.

* * *

"I knew it was stupid of us to get our hopes up!" Flama yelled in frustration as he sat down.

The lava monsters gathered in a room upstairs; knowing that time was running out and the curse would claim them soon. Lavaria held Whiparella in her arm as she did.

"At least Jestro had the most beautiful experience with the knight." Whiparella sighed; thankful for the events of the last few days.

Magmar had his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall.

"But now he's gone and Jestro is two times as miserable as he was before." The general spoke blankly; bottling up his true emotions.

"Poor kid thinks he's let us down." Sparkks spoke sadly with Burnzie nodding in agreement.

"I checked on him a minute ago and he was crying his eyes out." Moltor admitted.

Beast master stayed silent as he held his two pets, Muffin and Poopsie close to him; trying to comfort them in this dark hour. Book Keeper wondered away from everyone else and decided to look out the window. He thought he was going to see the snow covered forest across the bridge. But he went wide eyed when he saw something else. He started making worried sounds and pointed out to the window; getting everyone's attention.

"What is it, Booky?" Lavaria got up to take a look.

"Did Clay come back?" Burnzie asked hopefully.

Everyone came up to the window to see what was happening. Everyone went wide eyed and gasped in shock when they saw a familiar army of stone monsters coming across the bridge; lead by a familiar necromancer with a staff.

"Oh, no! This can't be happening!" Whiparella begged it not to be.

"That slime ball!" Beast Master spoke in pure anger.

"There's not a moment to lose!" Magmar ran away from the window. "Everyone; downstairs and barricade the doors immediately!"

Everyone quickly followed Magmars orders and ran downstairs.

"Well there you go. So much for true love." Flama spoke in petty bitterness.

As all the lava monsters proceeded to block the doors, Monstrox approached the steps leading up. His monsters stopped behind him as he turned to face them.

"Grimrocs; bring that door down!" Monstrox ordered.

A group of large stone monsters approached the door and prepared to break it open. On Monstroxs' command, they punched and slammed against the iron doors continuously. On the inside, the lava monsters used every bit of strength they had to keep it shut while Magmar went upstairs to warn Jestro. Magmar quickly ran up the stairs and into the west wing room as tremors from the door shook the castle. The general made it to the room to see Jestro sitting on the cold floor; leaning against his bed with his face buried in his arms and knees.

"Pardon me, Master." Magmar spoke as he caught his breath.

"He's not coming back." Jestro spoke in a shaky voice; muffled by his arms and knees.

"I don't mean to interrupt your crying session, but the castle is under attack by-"

"Magmar, please; just go away!"

Magmar could tell from the sound of Jestros' voice that he was still crying. The general wasn't sure what to do.

"Alright, just don't look out the window." He warned before running back to block the front door; leaving Jestro alone.

Everyone struggled to keep the door closed as they felt the monsters on the side bombard it continuously.

"This isn't working!" Burnzie said in panic.

"This thing is gonna come down any second!" Beast master added with panic; his pets also struggling.

Lavaria looked up and backed off to look at everyone.

"I have an idea! Everyone follow my lead!" She ordered.

On the outside, the grimrocs backed away from the door. Monstrox was getting impatient.

"Hit it again!" The necromancer commanded.

The monsters watched in anticipation as the grimrocs charged at the doors with monstrous battle cries. Just as they were about to strike, the doors opened wide; letting them inside and making them trip over each other in a comedic fashion. The other stone monsters laughed at the sight while Monsters groaned in frustration.

"Get up; you're making yourselves look like a bunch of stooges!" He ordered as he walked inside.

The stone monsters followed their master inside the castle; looking around the familiar entrance room.

"This place looks haunted." A short monster commented.

"It was haunted when we lived here." Another replied.

While the stone monsters looked around, Monstrox stopped at the bottom of the stairs. The necromancer held the mirror up and looked into it.

"Show me Jestro." He ordered.

While Monstrox was looking to the mirror for answers, two gargoyles walked into the living room. A fire was lit in the fireplace.

"I remember this room." One gargoyle reminisced. "Hey, remember that Moltor guy? The one who had bandages on his hands all the time?"

The other gargoyle laughed.

"Yeah, I remember him." He laughed some more. "And didn't he have a sister or-"

"WHAT!?"

The two gargoyles jumped as they heard a voice yell from the fireplace. Two balls of fire shot out and hit them in their faces before Flama bursted out of the fire. Moltor jumped out from behind the couch with an angry look on his face.

"ATTACK!"

With that order, the stone monsters watched as the lava monsters jumped out of their hiding places and fought back. Monstrox turned in shock as a fight broke out behind him. The necromancer quickly ran up the stairs and went into the east wing before anyone could see him; leaving his army to fight the ex-members of his group. Magmar came back downstairs just as the fight broke out. With an angry look in his eyes, he joined the fight. Moltor was fighting at least three stone monsters in a boxing match, Flama continuously shot fire out of his hands and aimed at a group of gargoyles and harpies. Beast Master and his pets fought back against a mass group of small stone monsters. Whiparella and Lavaria fought together against several stone monsters; the snake woman lashing at them with her whips. Book keeper climbed up on the chandelier on the ceiling with some items; throwing them at the invaders down below.

Clay and the others showed up just in time. He dashed his vehicle across the bridge as they followed him in vehicles of their own. Clay came to a stop at the bottom of steps; jumping out as everyone else stopped behind him. Clay looked to the inside of the castle and saw all the commotion happening in front of him. He did not see Monstrox, but he knew the necromancer was in there somewhere. The others approached Clay with their weapons as he readied his.

"We'll take care of everything happening here; you go find the Jestro before Monstrox does!" Macy took charge.

Clay nodded before he ran into the castle; his allies following him in.

"The stone monsters are the ones we attack, right?" Lance asked for a reminder.

"Yes, that's right!" Merlok answered back; ready with his staff.

Everyone quickly split up and joined the fight against the stone monsters while Clay kept his eyes peeled for Jestro or Monstrox. Clay looked all around him as the lava monsters took no notice of him; too busy defending their home. The knight looked at the stairs to see something at the top. A cloaked figure ran across to the west wing; carrying a familiar staff. Clay quickly followed in pursuit; dodging several fire balls and flying monsters as he made his way to the stairs.

While Clay made his way up the stairs, book keeper continued to throw things at the stone monsters below; laughing as they hit their heads in a rather comical fashion. But a gargoyle flew up to the chandelier and tipped it over; trying make the short lava monster fall. Book keeper tried to grab the edge of the chandelier, but he missed and began to fall. Lavaria quickly noticed and wide eyed.

"Booky!" She called; running to catch him.

But Lavaria was too far away and she would not make it. Book keeper screamed and flapped his arms as he was about to hit the floor. But Roberto sled across the floor and held his arms out; catching Book Keeper in the nick of time. Lavaria stopped and stared as the sculptor stood up with a confused book keeper staring at him.

"Roberto? Where are you here?" Lavaria questioned.

"Well, I was with Monstrox a few hours ago, but I said some things that made him mad and now I'm rebelling and breaking some of the monsters he made me create." Roberto answered with a shrug.

Book keeper looked over Robertos' shoulder and poked an oncoming stone monster in the eye. Lavaria and the sculptor watched as the monster screamed and ran off in pain as Book Keeper smiled.

"Well, we're all better off without him." Lavaria replied to the Italian man. "Should we get back to fighting these scumbags then?"

"Sì,." Roberto replied; putting Book Keeper down and picking up a loose weapon off the floor to fight with.

* * *

Jestro was still sitting on the floor; quietly sobbing and shaking to himself. All he could hope for now was some kind of miracle to happen where Clay would just magically appear and say the words needed to break the curse. But he knew the chances of that happening were zero to nothing.

A sound at the door made Jestro look up. The door to his room creaked open slightly; bringing in a small amount of light.

"Clay?" Jestro stood up and smiled a little; sounding hopeful.

But a familiar chuckle took the smile away, and turned into a stare of horror and fear as the owner of the sound opened the door fully.


	19. Chapter 19

**AN:Warning: This chapter will make you sad. If you are familiar with the many takes of BatB, You'll know why and you might have a grudge against me until I upload the next chapter; which I assure you is in progress. I know I do an unconformable amount of cliffhangers, but I actually hate them quite a bit.**

* * *

 _ **Battle on the Rooftop**_

* * *

Jestro felt a horrible chill go down his spine as Monstrox grinned at him.

"No." The jester whispered.

"Long time no see, huh joke boy?" Monstrox began to walk over to him.

Jestro quickly responded by backing away towards the balcony, but Monstrox kept coming towards him.

"This isn't happening!" Jestro yelled out in fear. "This has to be a nightmare!"

Jestro felt the edge of the balcony as he backed into it. Monstrox kept coming towards him with a smug grin on his face; paying no attention to the Rose and its last two petals.

"Oh, you're wide awake. This is very real." The necromancer spoke in a tone of malice.

"But your staff! I broke it; you shouldn't have it!"

"You mean this?"

Monstrox held the staff up so Jestro could take a good look. Jestro felt like he was trapped in a nightmare; like the one he had the other night. Only this one felt all too real; because it was.

"Well, let's just say that a certain knight in blue helped me fix it." Monstrox teased.

Jestro glance over the balcony; seeing a few small ledges that were big enough for him to land and climb on. He quickly turned back to Monstrox when he mentioned Clay.

"Are you, talking about Clay?" Jestro questioned in a shaky tone.

"That was his name?" Monstrox teased with a smirk.

The necromancer smiled wider as Jestro stared at him with fearful eyes.

"I must admit. He put up quite a fight against me. But, he just wasn't strong enough."

Jestro felt tears emerging as a horrible thought came into his head.

"You didn't!" He screamed in denial.

"Of course I did. How else did you think I was going to get his blood to fix my staff?" The necromancer said as his staff began to glow purple.

Monstrox held his staff up in the air; preparing to cast a spell. Jestro quickly reacted; jumping over the balcony as Monstrox casted a bolt of lightning. Fortunately he missed. The necromancer stopped smiling and growled as he looked over the balcony to see Jestro getting up off his knees. He was about to cast another spell as Jestro jumped to the next ledge. But Monstrox heard the sound of running footsteps behind him. He quickly turned and held up his staff; blocking the attack of an oncoming sword. Monstrox gasped as he looked at Clay staring at him with an enraged look in his eyes.

"How did you get here!?" The necromancer questioned.

"Why is he!?" Clay questioned with a shout.

Monstrox smiled as he pushed Clay back. The knight kept his footing and glared at the necromancer.

"When I take him as my new vessel, I'm going to rip your heart out of your chest." Monstrox smirked deviously as thunder erupted from above. "And he'll be forced to watch."

Clay grunted as he pushed Monstrox to the edge of the balcony as rain began to pour down. Unknown to them, another petal fell from the rose and hit the table. But the tremor it created made a part of the balcony fall apart. Monstrox went wide eyed and screamed as he fell to the ledge below. Clay watched as the evil necromancer got back up on his feet. Jestro was in progress of climbing up a nearby tower; keeping a steady grip even though it was raining down on him.

"YOU WON'T STOP ME, MOORINGTON!" Monstrox yelled from below.

Jestro froze when he heard Monstrox yell. The cursed jester climbed to the top of the tower and looked back at the balcony. He gasped when he saw Clay standing there with his sword and shield; being soaked by the pouring rain. He thought Monstrox did something horrible to him. But he was there; still alive.

"CLAY!"

Clay looked towards the tower when he heard a familiar voice call his name. Clay could not see it from where he was standing, but Jestro was smiling as tears fell from his eyes.

"YOU CAME BACK!" Jestro called out again; thunder and lightning responding to his voice.

"JESTRO, IM SORRY! I COULDN'T STOP HIM!" Clay apologised; thinking it was his fault that Monstrox was here.

The smile Jestros' face disappeared when Monstrox stared at him from afar.

"STAY RIGHT THERE! I'M COMING!" The jester called back.

Jestro quickly resumed climbing the tower as rain poured down on his face. Clay took a step back as Monstrox rose up from the ledge and stared at Clay with his enraged yellow and red eyes.

"RELENTLESS RUST!" The necromancer pointed his staff at Clay.

A bolt of dark purple shot out of Monstroxs staff and hit Clay; making his armour turn brown and rust. Clay felt the joints in his armour lock up as the spell did its affects. Clay stood frozen in place; struggling to move. Monstrox turned back to the tower that Jestro was climbing on.

"I'M COMING FOR YOU, JESTRO!" The necromancer shouted through the rain and thunder.

Jestro made it to the top of the tower. He caught his Breath as he stood on the ledge. But he had to keep his guard up. He quickly resumed his way; trying to get back to Clay. He ran across the walkway connecting to the next tower. But he stopped as Monstrox jumped in front of him. The necromancer grabbed the front of Jestros' top and threw him back. Jestro felt a wave of pain as his back slammed into the tower. But he refused to cry out and show weakness. Monstrox knew Jestro was weakened. He walked towards his former apprentice; kicking the rainwater on the walkway.

"I know what's going on between you and Mr goodie knight." Monstrox spoke in a raspy tone. "I remember when I put the curse on you. Unless you find someone who will love you as you are."

Jestro did not look up at Monstrox.

"You think Moorington is going to fall for you?" The necromancer continued. "Get real, joke boy. I made the whole love thing up, because love isn't real. Even if he did, what if he prefers you as a monster? He might get a look at you in your pale white tone and get over you in a second."

Jestro did not even flinch as Monstrox pointed the end of his staff towards his heart; preparing to claim the jester as his new body.

"Face it kid. You'll never be human again. You were better off with me."

Before Monstrox could do anything, Jestro grabbed the end of the staff without looking up. Monstrox stared with wide eyes as the jester stood up; still gripping the staff and pointing it away from him. The necromancer watched as Jestro finally looked up. But his eyes were glowing bright yellow and his sharp teeth were showing in an angry grimace.

"This isn't just about me." Jestro spoke in his electrical voice.

Monstrox grunted as Jestro kicked him in the stomach; knocking him back and making him let go of his staff. Monstrox sat up on the cold, wet walkway and stared with shock and confusion. Jestros' stare only got worse as he gave Monstrox a look that could kill.

"You were going to hurt people! You were going to kill millions; including the boy who helped me in town!" Jestro accused; pointing at Monstrox with his own staff. "I didn't care about what you did to me! But you dragged everyone into it when you cursed me! Magmar, Lavaria, Whiparella, Moltor and Flama, Book Keeper, Beast Master and his two dogs, Burnzie and Sparkks; they didn't deserve to be punished! It wasn't just my life you ruined! You ruined them! They did nothing to you, and you just ruined them!"

Jestro went silent; still staring at Monstrox. But the necromancer began to laugh. He looked at the jester with a smart aleck grin as he stood back up.

"You know what I find so funny about that, joke boy?" Monstrox asked in a sarcastic tone. "I know they had nothing to do with what you did."

Jestro gripped the staff tighter; feeling his rage rising as he looked at Monstroxs' face. The necromancer leaned in with a sadistic grin.

"I just made them part of the curse because they were the only family you ever had, you sad little orphan joke."

With that, Jestro let out an enraged growl and swung Monstroxs' staff around; hitting the necromancer square in the face and breaking the top of the evil artefact in half. Monstrox fell on his back, but he looked up to see his staff broken with dark magic leaking out of it. He wanted to be enraged like he was last time. But he was terrified of the enraged stare of his former apprentice. Jestro tossed the staff behind him and stared at his former master. Monstrox stood back up.

"You little-"

"SHUT UP!"

Jestro punched the necromancer in the jaw; sending him back to the floor with blood coming out of his mouth. Jestro grabbed the collar of his robe and lifted him off the walkway. Monstrox watched in fear as Jestro held him over the edge of the walkway; looking down to the steam made by the rain from above and lava down below. Monstrox looked at Jestro with a pathetic look of fear.

"Don't drop me! I'm sorry!" Monstrox begged with an apology. "I'll do anything! Just don't drop me!"

Jestro still stared at the necromancer as he begged. But his expression slowly changed and turned blank. The jester took Monstrox away from the edge and threw him back onto the walkway. Monstrox backed away from the cursed Jester as he stared down at him.

"I'll never forgive you for what you did." Jestro said calmly but firmly. "But killing you won't change me back."

Monstrox still stared as Jestro Pointed at him.

"Get out." He ordered strictly in his electrical voice.

Monstrox gave the jester a questionable look before standing and walking the opposite way from Jestro. Jestro quickly looked towards the balcony and took a giant leap. Monstrox looked down the way he was going. His staff was on the floor; the top of it broken and leaking dark unstable magic. The necromancer growled quietly as he glanced at the balcony.

Jestro landed on his feet and looked up to see Clay struggling against his rusted armour. Jestro quickly ran to him; tearing the rusted parts away and freeing Clay. Clay took a few heavy breaths; happy to be out of his rusted armour and now only wearing a pair of pants and the shirt with his family crest. The knight looked up to see Jestro smiling at him with teary eyes.

"You came back." Jestro spoke in a shaky voice.

Clay smiled back as he breathed some more. He was about to say something to the jester. But Jestro let out a painful cry and fell forward; making Clay gasp in shock. Something hit Jestro in the back; leaving a giant wound and the top half of his black top torn and Burnt. Clay saw Monstrox standing on the walkway with his broken staff; glaring at Him and the wounded jester.

"NEVER TURN YOUR BACK ON A NECROMANCER!" Monstrox yelled out in anger as he prepared to take another shot. "UNLESS YOU HAVE A DEATH WISH!"

Monstroxs' was about to shot a ball of unstable and destructive dark magic.

"NO!"

Clay quickly grabbed his shield as the dark magic shot out of the broken staff. The knight ran and kneeled in front of Jestro with his shield in the air; protecting him and himself. Clay pushed back and parried the blast of evil magic; reflecting it and sending it back. Monstrox went wide eyed as the dark ball came back and hit him. The necromancer screamed as he flew off the edge of the walkway and into the steam down below. Clay listened as his screams faded into nothing. But he quickly turned his attention back to Jestro.

Clay put his shield down and gently pulled Jestro into his arms; supporting his upper body on his knees. Jestro opened his eyes and looked at Clay weakly.

"I, didn't think, you would come back." Jestro confessed; his voice shaky and weak.

Clay responded in a worried and scared tone.

"Of course I came back. I couldn't just-"

Clay lost his sentence as he looked down at the weak and dying jester. He was breathing heavily and was almost completely still.

"No, this is all my fault." Clay sounded like he was tearing up. "I should've come sooner. I could've protected you."

"Don't... don't blame yourself, Clay." Jestro struggled to speak. "I know I don't have much time left."

"Don't talk like that." Clay gently grabbed Jestros' hand; trying to get him to stay awake. "I'm here now. You're going to be okay. I'll find a way to break the curse."

Jestro weakly brought his hand to Clays face; wiping away the Knights tears. Clay felt his heart sink as Jestro smiled at him.

"At least... I got, to see you... One last time... My brave knight." Jestro whispered in a weak voice.

Clay watched in denial and fear as Jestro closed his eyes and went silent; his hand and arm falling to the floor. Clay shook his head as he held the jesters now lifeless body.

"No." He whispered as more tears fell.

Unknown to Clay, the last petal was becoming loose from the rose.

* * *

Small amounts of stone monsters that decided that they lost the battle ran out of the castle and dashed across the bridge; most of them missing an arm or a leg, or a head. The lava monsters, the Knights, the king and Queen, Roberto and Merlok ran out to see their enemies flee in the steamy mist.

"Yeah, you better run!" Macy pointed her mace out to the steam covered bridge.

"Victory is ours!" Magmar proclaimed in a proud voice.

Everyone began to cheer and congratulate each other. Until Whiparella began to cry in pain. Lavaria quickly reacted and ran to her.

"Whippy, are you okay?" She asked in concern.

Whiparella looked down to see the bottom half of her turning to stone. Everyone gasped in horror at the sight. But Lavaria and the monsters were terrified.

"Whippy!?" She cried out; not knowing what was happening to her friend.

"What's happening!?" Aaron questioned in worry.

A horrified look of realisation appeared on Magmars' face.

"The last petal is falling." He whispered.

Whiparella looked up at Lavaria with fear and sadness. The snake woman put her hand on her cheek before it changed to stone.

"Lavaria, tell our boy that I love him." She requested before turning into a lifeless statue.

"Whippy, no!" Lavaria refused to believe what was happening.

Moltor looked down at his fists as they began to turn into cold grey stone. Flama watched in panic and horror as his brother looked at him with sad eyes.

"Flama... I love you, bro." The boulder fisted monster spoke his last words.

Flama shook his head and grabbed his brothers' arms, but it was too late. Moltor was now a statue.

"No! Moltor, don't leave me! I need you!" The fire monster begged as he began to change.

He cried and screamed as he held his petrified brother; turning to stone in a matter of seconds. Everyone watched in horror; not knowing why this was happening. Merlok could sense the source coming from inside the castle. He ran inside as the rest of the monsters changed one by one. Beast Master looked around frantically for his two pets as his left side turned.

"Babies! Sweetie pies! Where are you!?" He begged and called as he turned.

Roberto heard the sound of barking as Muffin and Poopsie hopped out of the castle and towards their master desperately. But they turned in just a few seconds. Their now stone bodies rolled on towards the steps. Book keeper stopped them and put them down at Beast Masters feet before he himself turned. He looked at Magmar, Lavaria, Burnzie and Sparkks and the Knights with a sad look and waved goodbye as he turned completely.

"We have to help them!" Macy said in desperation.

"There's nothing we can do." Roberto spoke sadly; watching his friends practically die in front of him. "The knight has to confess his feelings for Jestro."

Burnzie and Sparkks looked at each other as they both began to turn.

"Goodbye, old friend." Burnzie held his hand to Sparkks as he turned to stone.

"Nice knowing ya, pal." Sparkks spoke in sad tone; grabbing Burnzies' hand as he turned.

Magmar and Lavaria were the only ones left. Magmar watched as his left hand and leg began to petrify. Lavaria felt her heart sink as her general looked at her.

"Lavaria. It was an honour to fight by your side." He put his right arm to his chest as a salute. "I hope we meet again in another life."

Lavaria and the others watched as Magmar turned to stone. Lavaria felt a tear run down her cheek as she felt a stiff feeling in her legs.

"Thank you, my friends." She spoke softly as her arms changed. "I'll miss you all."

Everyone watched as Lavaria was the last one to turn to stone. Roberto felt his heart ache as he stared at the statues in front of him; the king and Queen putting their hands down on his shoulders to comfort him, while the Knights stared in sadness. Thinking that they failed to save a family.


	20. Chapter 20

Merlok entered the west wing room; looking around as he sensed the forces around him. He walked over to the balcony and stared in shock. Clay was on his knees; holding a lifeless Jestro in his arms.

"Jestro, wake up!" Clay begged; tears pouring down his face.

Merlok watched in heart wrenching silence; not noticing the rose and its final petal. The last petal loosened from the rose; ready to fall at any second. Clay held Jestro in his arms as he begged him to wake up. But he was gone.

"Please... Please, don't leave." Clay quietly begged.

The knight looked down at the unconscious jester; unfortunately knowing he was just fooling himself. He gently placed his mouth to the jesters' forehead; trying to be as gentle as he could be as he tearfully whispered one last thing to him.

"I love you."

Even though Clay knew he was not going to get a response, he whispered his true feelings; only to silently weep more as he knew Jestro would never hear it. Merlok watched as Clay silently mourned; wishing he could do something.

Merlok was about to say something. But a bright glow from the table caught his attention. The rose glowed bright and glittering gold. All the petals that had fallen off over the years rose up and glowed. Merlok watched in awe as the glass dome around the rose turned into golden dust and flew towards the fallen jester and the weeping knight.

Clay looked up and stared with surprised eyes as the gold aura spread around Jestros' unconscious form and lifted him up from his arms. Clay blinked in confusion and amazement while Merlok took off his hat as he watched the magic happening in front of him.

Jestro was a few metres above the ground; being coated in gold dust and glowing in light. Clay had to cover his eyes for a moment to avoid being blinded. But he opened them and watched in awe as Jestro began to change.

Jestro was limp and the unresponsive as the gold dust circled around him and changed his appearance. His dark black clothing began to turn Snow White. The blue tone of his skin changed into a pale flesh white tone, the lighting marks disappeared and his sharp black nails changed to a normal colour. His white hair darkened into a light brown tone, his pointed ears became rounded and the black tinge of his lips faded into a light red tone.

Clay watched the gold dust fade as it gently placed Jestro back on the ground; leaving him standing in a new form. Jestro was still for a few moments before his eyes flattered open; revealing a pair of light green eyes with the whites being... Well, white. Clay watched as Jestro closed them again and rubbed his forehead in discomfort; quietly groaning like he just woke up from a deep sleep. In a way, he did.

"Jestro?" Clay spoke out loud.

Jestro took his hand away and opened his eyes tiredly.

"Clay?" He muttered in a sleepy voice.

Jestro went wide eyed when he noticed his hand. He quickly looked at the other one, looked down at his body; only just realising what happened. Jestro looked at Clay as tears began to emerge. But the jester started smiled.

"You... You broke the spell." He said in a joyful and shaky voice.

Clay blinked as he came closer to Jestro. The jester froze as the knight gently put his hand up to his cheek; trying to get a good look at him. Jestro felt a hint of nervousness as Clay stared at him thoughtful; as if he was remembering something. Clay blinked as he realised something about Jestro that had been bugging him since the dance.

Clay smiled as he thought about the start of his first day at the Knights academy. He smiled as he thought of the boy who he helped pick up the groceries that he dropped. Merlok was in the corner; watching the scene about to unfold.

"I've met you before." Clay remembered; recognising Jestro as the boy he met, only older.

Jestro blinked as he too remembered that day before the curse.

"You were the one." Jestro smiled as he realised. "You were the one I wanted to protect."

Jestro felt a nervous chill as Clay gentle wrapped his arms around him. The jester looked up as the knight gave him a smile that could only be described as grateful and relieved. Clay looked into Jestros' light green eyes. His real eyes; thinking they were the most beautiful shade he had ever seen in his life. Jestro felt something that he had never felt since the curse. He felt lie he could finally be happy and safe. He felt like the feeling could last for more than a minute or an hour. The two of them could not deny it, even if they wanted to. They had fallen in love. Without any hesitation what so ever, the knight leaned in and kissed his prince in a gentle and loving way. Jestro kissed back as he felt a fire ignite in his heart.

Merlok looked up at the sky as the sun rose up from behind the mountains. But something amazing was happening. As the sunlight touched the castle, the bricks and parts that had fallen off over the years rose up and went back in their places. The curse was still being lifted.

Down on the bridge, everyone watched as the castle began to repair itself; staring in awe as it happened. The snow surrounding the castle melted and the pit of lava down below disappeared. Roberto quickly looked at the statues of his friends as something happened to them. He gasped as Book Keeper started cracking; thinking he was falling apart. But something miraculous was happening instead. The stone broke apart and cracked; freeing the short monster. Everyone stared in shock and amazement; for he was no longer a monster.

Book Keeper shook his head and rubbed his temple with a confused noise. He looked down at his legs and went wide eyed. The former monster felt his short black hair with his hands and looked at the pale peach tone of his skin. He felt the sleeves of his red shirt and the fabric of his black pants before he realised what happened. He blinked his now blue eyes and smiled with his slightly crocked teeth before he laughed cheerfully and jumped up and down in joy.

The Knights and the royal couple went wide eyed while Roberto smiled in joy. In a matter of seconds, the statue of Flama began to crack and fall apart as well. A thin looking man with wild yellow and orange hair emerged out of the rumble. He opened his now brown eyes tiredly and took a look at himself. He let go of his still petrified brother. He looked at his flesh white hands and felt the material of his fire coloured clothes. But he heard the sound of stone falling apart and looked back to see his brother changing. Moltor took a tired gasp as he broke out of the stone in his old human form. He put his normal human bandaged hand through his short black hair before looking at himself in his dark grey shoulder spiked jacket, his black pants and his dark red boots.

"Moltor?" Flama spoke quietly; getting his brother to look at him.

"Flama?" He said in a tired voice.

Moltor raised an eyebrow when he saw his brother began to shed tears with an angry look. Flama quickly wrapped his arms around his twin and hugged him; making him pull a confused look.

"Don't ever do that again, you jerk!" The former fire monster yelled through angry and relieved tears.

Moltor just looked at him with a confused face.

The Knights and the king and Queen continued to watch in amazement as the lava monsters all changed one by one. The stone around Magmar crumbled and fell apart; showing a dark skinned masculine man with black hair tied in a ponytail and wearing black pants with red metal protected boots. Magmar grunted as he removed his armour piece from his face; revealing a regular human mouth and a black goatee on his chin. Magmar smiled as he looked down at his restored form; knowing what this meant.

Magmar looked in front of him as Lavaria broke out of her stone prison; showing a rather Strong looking woman with medium tone skin, long black hair coming out of the right side of her head and wearing her armour. She opened her brown eyes and smiled when she saw Magmar in front of her.

"Lavaria?" The general spoke quietly; having trouble believing what he was seeing.

Lavaria ran up to Magmar and pulled him into a tight hug; laughing in joy.

"Magmar; we beat the clock!" She cheered as she lifted him off the ground.

Magmar felt a smile coming on as Lavaria put him back.

"We certainly did." The general agreed.

The sound of another statue breaking open caught their attention. Lavaria gasped and ran over when she spotted Whiparella laying on the ground.

"Whiparella?" She tried to make sure her 'friend' was okay.

Lavaria watched with wide eyes as Whiparella sat up on the ground. Her skin was changed into dark brown, her black hair was in a long dreadlock, the scaly skin she had before was replaced with a red and orange dress and she had legs again. She looked up at Lavaria as she opened her reddish brown eyes.

"Lavy? Is that you?" She asked out of confusion.

Lavaria held her hand out to the former snake woman and helped her up; supporting her as she tried to stand.

"Everything's going to be ok, Whippy." Lavaria reassured her.

Whiparella smiled as she realised what was happening. The pair turned their attention to the giant statues near them. Burnzie and Sparkks broke out of the stone they were trapped in at the same time. Burnzie shook his head and opened his blue eyes as Sparkks open his one good eye. Both large men were similar in appearance. Brown hair, blue eyes, light skin tone and dark torn clothing. But Sparkks had his right eye covered by an eyepatch with a monster eye sewn into it and his hair was slightly shorter than Burnzies'. The two men looked at each other with wide eyes before smiling and pulling each other into a big brotherly hug.

"I thought you were dead!" Burnzie spoke joyfully.

"I thought you were dead!" Sparkks repeated in the same tone.

The final statues to break were Beast Master and his pets. The two statues of the ball monsters split open like eggs, a red and brown coloured dog coming out of both of them. The two dogs barked as Beast Masters statue cracked open; freeing a man light skinned man with scars on the top half of his body. Beast Master opened his one good eye to see his two pets barking happily and jumping on him.

"Muffin! Poopsie! My babies!" He smiled in joy as his pets jumped on him and knocked him to the ground playfully; hugging them and patting them affectionately.

Everyone just ran to each other and hugged each other; celebrating, for the curse was lifted. The Knights, the king and Queen and Roberto went up to the use-to-be monsters and celebrated with them. Even if they had no idea what was happening. Roberto knew all about it, and was grateful to have his friends back. Merlok came out from the front door with a happy and proud look on his face. Macy and the Knights noticed the wizard. But they smiled when they saw Clay come out of the castle.

"Hey everybody, look." Axl pointed to the door.

Clay smiled back. But he turned back to the door as someone else came out. Magmar and the others smiled as Jestro walked out with a nervous grin.

"Welcome back, master." The general greeted with a bow.

Jestros' nervous grin turned into a joyous smile as he ran down the steps and hugged the general. Magmar looked at the jester with surprise.

"It's great to be back, Magmar." Jestro replied in happy tone.

Magmar smiled back as Jestro broke away from him. Whiparella and Lavaria ran up and pulled their boy into an embracing hug as they cried out in joy. Clay watched the sight with a smile on his face; feeling like he did something good for Jestro. He thought it was like the Knights of the Red Rose books. For the past few days, he experienced everything that was in them. Adventure, action, a far off place, a battle against a dark force; he even discovered something about himself. But one thing really made him think. He found someone who changed his life.


	21. Chapter 21

**_epilogue_**

* * *

Two weeks later...

* * *

"Trust me, Jestro; you're going to love this."

Jestro wanted to give Clay a suspicious glare, but he was blindfolded and could not see a thing. It had been two whole weeks since Clay lifted the curse and returned Jestro and his family to human form. Despite how rocky their relationship was when they first met a few days prior, they really hit it off. For a long time, Jestro did not think love was real while he was under the curses' influence. But he quickly changed his opinion when he got to know Clay. Even the knight admitted that the feelings he had for Jestro were surprising for him; but he did not care. His heart wanted what it wanted. He kissed the jester without thinking, so it must be for real.

Earlier that day, Clay told Jestro to put on some clothes that he could go out in. Nothing fancy, just anything that he felt comfortable in. Jestro decided to wear a pair of clothes that Whiparella made for him after the curse was lifted. It was a light blue and purple striped outfit with a hood that resembled a jesters' hat; similar to the one he wore when he was younger. Jestro asked Clay were they were going, but the knight said it was a surprise. He wasn't sure, but his family looked like they were in on it as well. Then Clay asked him to put a blindfold on. Jestro knew they going somewhere far because Clay put him into what he suspected was a carriage.

Jestro could hear the quiet giggles of Lavaria and Whiparella, and the snickering of Moltor and Flama and Book Keepers' mischievous laughter.

"I haven't been outside in a long time." Jestro spoke nervously.

"We all haven't, master." He heard Magmars' voice.

"But this will be fun." He heard Lavaria speak to him with a smile in her voice.

"Cause your boyfriend is taking you ou-"

Jestro heard Moltor being silenced.

"Don't ruin it for him!" He heard Flama whisper in an angry tone.

Jestro had no idea what his peers were talking about, but he felt someone gently grab his hand.

"I can't tell you what the surprise is, Jestro. But I guarantee that you'll love it." He heard Clays voice reassuring him.

Jestro quietly sighed to himself; knowing he would just have to wait for this surprise that Clay had planned.

After what seemed like forever, Jestro felt the carriage come to a gentle stop.

"We're here!" He heard a robotic voice announce.

"Thank you, Kyle." Clay spoke in a happy tone.

Jestro felt the carriage shaking as everyone got off. He felt Clay taking his hand and slowly lead him out of the carriage. The jesters ears perked up as he heard music and joyful laughter, and the smell of different kinds of food hit him.

"I'm going to take the blindfold off now. You ready for the surprise, Jestro?" Clay spoke in anticipation.

Jestro nodded. Sight returned to him as Clay took off the black blindfold. Jestro covered his mouth as he gasped at the sight in front of him. Groups of people were walking and running around with smiles on their faces. Different stands were selling food and putting on games like ring toss and test your strength. He could even see a Farris wheel in the distance. Everyone watched as Jestro took his hands away to reveal an excited smile.

"What is this?" The jester asked excitedly.

"Remember that festival I told you about the other day?" Clay asked with a smile.

"Clay wanted to show you how great and fun it is." Burnzie said as he jumped off the top of the carriage.

Jestro looked at Clay and raised an eyebrow at him.

"Was everyone in on this?" He asked with a laugh.

All of Jestros' family nodded. Magmar stepped and asked for everyones' attention.

"Alright, I know how excited you all are to participate; but let's just go over some-"

Everyone ignored Magmar and ran past him to the festival. Whiparella and Lavaria smiled as they walked past hand in hand.

"Just go with it and have fun, Magmar." The former snake woman spoke with a smile.

Magmar watched his colleagues walk away and sighed in tired frustration before following them. Clay took Jestros' hand as he smiled at him. Jestro returned a smile at Clay as they started walking together. Clay noticed that Jestro was looking at everything around him with a big grin on his face.

"If you think this is great, wait until you see the big fireworks show." The knight said with a smile.

"I could always hear them from the castle every year." Jestro remembered as he looked around. "I'll finally be able see them up close."

Clay felt his heart warm up as Jestro looked around like a child going to a carnival for the first time.

"Hey, Clay!"

Clay looked forward to see the Knights waving at him and coming towards him. Robin and Ava were with them too.

"You all made it!" Clay greeted back with a smile.

"Well there's no way we could miss the fireworks." Aaron said as he came up and hugged his friend.

Macy looked at Jestro with a friendly smile.

"How are you Jestro? Feeling great to be human again?" The princess knight asked kindly.

"Yes. It's wonderful." Jestro spoke shyly as his cheeks turned pink.

Jestro looked over to see something that caught his interest. With a child-like stare, he let go of Clays hand wondered over to get a closer look.

"I'll be right here, Jess!" The knight called out to his love.

Axl took a bite out of some cotton candy he had.

"You too are really hitting it off." The large knight spoke with a mouthful of cotton candy.

Clay nodded in agreement. For the past two weeks, he had been helping Jestro get his life back on track along with his family. On some days and nights, Clay would stay over at castle when he wasn't on duty and hang out with him; even staying overnight on some days. But this was the first time Jestro and his family went outside the castle since the curse. Lance looked at Clay with a mischievous looking smile.

"What?" Clay questioned in confusion.

"So, how close are you and jester man?" The rich knight asked with a raised eyebrow and gave Clay a grin.

"C'mon, Lance; leave him alone." Axl said before eating more cotton candy.

"If you must know, we're going to take things slow for now." Clay crossed his arms. "But... I'm thinking of asking if Jestro and his family want to come live in Knighton."

"You're gonna ask him to move in with you?" Robin asked with a smile.

"If he wants to." Clay answered back.

"That's sounds a bit difficult. With him having a big family, where would they live?" Axl pondered as he finished his cotton candy.

"We can help them build a house and Jestro can live with Clay." Ava suggested.

Clay thought about it.

"Maybe. But I'm not going to ask him just yet." The blue knight answered back.

Before anyone could talk again, a familiar voice came up from behind.

"Why hello there, everyone."

Everyone turned and smiled as Merlok came over. Clay ran up and hugged the wizard.

"It's good to see you, Merlok." Clay greeted as he broke away.

"Glad to see you could make it, Clay." The wizard greeted back. "What is everyone talking about?"

"We were just listening to Clay talk about his boyfriend." Lance teased; making Clay glare at him.

"C'mon man, don't be like that. They're serious about each other." Aaron defended the blue knight.

Merlok lightly chuckled as the Knights spoke to each other.

"I was actually hoping I could talk to you for a minute, Clay." The wizard answered back.

The Knights got the message and walked off to enjoy the festival.

"I'm gonna win a stuffed animal for you, Ava!" Robin exclaimed excitedly as he and his friend walked.

"You really don't have to, Robin." Ava replied with small smile.

When everyone wondered away, Clay listened as Merlok began talking to him.

"I must say, Clay; I'm very proud of you." The wizard smiled under his long beard. "You did a very brave and good for Jestro."

Clay blinked and looked over in Jestros' direction he saw the jester playing one of the carnival games that involved throwing darts and popping balloons.

"Even though I wasn't sure what it was, I could sense his pain and sorrow." Merlok continued. "You really helped him."

Clay turned to face Merlok, but his expression saddened a bit.

"Clay, what's wrong?" The wizard asked in concern.

Clay hesitated a bit before he answered.

"I know what happened to my parents."

Merlok went silent and still as Clay explained.

"Jestro took me to their house. We saw a doctors' mask on the floor."

Clay looked up at the wizard.

"I think I know how they died. But, will you please tell me what happened?"

Merlok looked down at the grass beneath him as he tried to answer.

"Your parents were good people, Clay." He began. "They didn't deserve to die the way they did. Not a day goes by where I don't think about how they begged me to take you somewhere safe and away from the sickness that took them."

Clay looked down at the ground as Merlok continued to explain.

"I know how hard this is for you, Clay. But, I'm certain that your parents would be very proud of you and what you are now."

Clay looked up from the ground and stared at Merlok with sad eyes. But the Knight lightly sighed and gave the wizard a small smile.

"I'm grateful for everything you've done for me, Merlok." Clay spoke softly; tearing up a bit.

Clay pulled the wizard into a hug. Merlok hugged back as Clay spoke some more.

"Thank you."

"That's alright, Clay." Merlok answered back.

Clay broke away from the wizard and wiped his eyes dry. Merlok smiled under his beard.

"The fireworks will start in a few minutes. You should take Jestro and find a good place to watch." He advised the knight.

Clay smiled a bit.

"Guess we should. I'll see you later."

"Enjoy the show." Merlok waved goodbye as he walked off.

Clay waved goodbye before turning to Jestros' direction

"Hey, Jestro! The fireworks are going to start soon!" The knight called out.

Jestro turned around with a big polar bear toy that he won in his arms. The jester smiled at his love.

"Coming!" He called out.

Jestro quickly made his way over to Clay. But he accidently ran into someone. Jestro stopped and looked to see an elderly looking person standing there with a cloak on; covering their face.

"I'm sorry." Jestro apologised; thinking he hurt the person.

The elderly person turned his head to Jestro.

"It's fine. Enjoy your evening."

Jestro watched as the elderly person walked away. He wasn't sure how, but he felt a chill go up his spine when that man spoke in a deep voice.

"Jestro?"

Jestro looked up to see Clay standing there; smiling at him and holding his hand out.

"Ready to go?" The knight asked.

Jestro snapped back to reality and nodded. He grabbed Clays hand and followed him so they could watch the fireworks together. On the way, they walked past the king and queen watching Roberto working on some statues. Clay and Jestro stopped and watched as the royal couple spoke to the sculptor.

"You've certainly improved your artistry since we last saw you, Roberto." The queen complimented as the artist continued his work. "We're looking forward to having you back at the castle."

"Oh your kindness makes my heart skip a beat, your majesty." Roberto thanked as he smiled.

The king looked at the statue in front of him with a confused look. It looked a bit like the evil necromancer, but more monstrous, misshapen and surreal.

"Just what do you plan on calling this... art piece?" His majesty asked hesitantly.

Roberto put his tools down and thought for a moment.

"I think I shall call it, oppression." He answered with glare in his tone.

Her majesty smiled in approval while the king gave the artist a rather forced and nervous grin. Clay and Jestro both chuckled a little as they continued their way. After a minute, they found a nice spot in the grass surrounded by other groups of sitting people and sat down.

"Merlok said the fireworks should start any minute now." Clay said as he sat down.

Jestro held his prize tightly as he eagerly waited. Clay stared at Jestro as he thought of that moment where he met him briefly years ago. He found it hard to believe that the nervous and shy boy that dropped his shopping on the ground basically saved the kingdom. But it made his insides turn cold when he remembered that was the reason he got cursed. Clay played with his knuckles as he looked down to the ground.

"You did a very brave thing, Jestro."

Jestro looked away from the spot where the show would be and gave Clay his attention.

"Hm?"

"I know what happened after saving the kingdom was hard and terrible. But I think you're brave for standing up to Monstrox." Clay complimented as his cheeks went pink.

The same thing happened to Jestro as he smiled at Clay. But a thought of insecurity made it fade.

"I was scared. I felt so bad about it because everyone I cared about got dragged into it." Jestro remembered the past few years. "I thought I doomed them forever."

"You didn't doom anyone. Monstrox was the one responsible. But he's gone and he'll never hurt you or anyone again." Clay reassured the jester.

Jestro hoped Clay was right. But something else was on his mind.

"Clay? May I ask you something?" He asked rather shyly.

"Of course; go right ahead." Clay gave Jestro a reassuring smile.

Jestro hesitated a bit before asked the question.

"Would you still love me, if I were still a beast?"

Clay blinked in confusion as Jestro fidgeted with the plush he won. The knight gently grabbed his hand before he answered the jesters' question.

"I didn't fall for you because of how you look, Jestro." Clay spoke as sincerely as he could. "I fall for you because of what's in here."

Jestro looked down as Clay pointed at his chest.

"My internal organs?" Jestro questioned in confusion.

"No, no." Clay chuckled slightly. "I just realised that there was more to you then there was outside. And I was right."

Jestro turned away from Clay as his cheeks turned red. Clay gently pulled Jestro into his arms held him tightly as they heard the sound of fireworks rocketing skyward. Clay smiled at sight of exploding colours while Jestro looked up with wide eyes. The knight turned to look at the jester.

"Do you like it?" He asked as the fireworks continued.

Jestro smiled as he watched the explosions of colour in the night sky.

"I love it." He said as he cuddled up next to Clay.

Clay smiled as Jestro sat close to him. The knight was not sure if the moment was right. But he decided to get it out of the way.

"Hey, Jestro?"

"Yes, Clay?"

Clay hesitated a bit before asking.

"How would you feel if I wanted you and your family to come live in Knighton with me?" He asked.

Jestro thought about it for a moment.

"I'd have to discuss it with them first." The jester answered as honestly as he could.

He gave Clay a small smile.

"But I'd love to."

Clay smiled back as he and Jestro continued to watch the fireworks. Everyone around them cheered at the array of colours. Jestro caught Clay off guard and kissed his knight on the cheek; making Clay laugh and hold his love closer. The both of them finally relaxed and watched the fireworks explode across the night sky. They both knew and felt like this was a moment that they could cherish forever. They thought it could last forever in their heads. They knew everything ahead of them was going to be wonderful.

* * *

 **And that ladies and gentleman is the end. Thank you for reading.**


End file.
